EM ASIA FX-Asian currencies subdued; baht softens after weak GDP
(Adds text, updates prices)
By Aby Jose Koilparambil
Asian currencies were subdued on Monday as cautious investors
tried to strike a balance between a softer dollar and the
potential for further souring of risk appetite.
The Indian rupee, the Chinese yuan and
the Thai baht eased, while the Philippine peso
and the Malaysian ringgit were among the gainers.
The Indonesian rupiah and the Korean won
see-sawed between gains and losses, albeit in a thin range.
"Asian FX may feed on USD vulnerability at the onset of the
week but this may be countered somewhat by the recent
less-than-encouraging data flow out of the region, including
lower-than-expected 3Q GDP readings out of Malaysia and
Thailand," said OCBC Bank analysts in a note.
The dollar was modestly lower against its key rivals on
Monday after Federal Reserve officials expressed caution over
the global growth outlook, prompting traders to reassess the
pace of future U.S. interest rate increases.
Comments on Friday by Fed Vice Chair Richard Clarida put to
the test market expectations for a steady pace of tightening as
he cautioned about a slowdown in global growth, saying "that's
something that is going to be relevant" for the outlook for the
U.S. economy.
Oil prices, another key factor for net importers in Asia,
rose around 1 percent on Monday as traders expected top exporter
Saudi Arabia to push producer club OPEC to cut supply towards
year-end.
The Indian rupee, exposed to oil liabilities, was off 0.2
percent on the day as crude inched up. It had gained 1.4 percent
last week as oil tumbled.
But Indian markets' main focus was on a Reserve Bank of
India board meeting later in the day, amid government pressure
on the RBI to relax lending curbs and hand over surplus reserves
to the government.
Among other decliners, baht and yuan weakened as much as 0.2
percent each.
The Philippine peso edged higher, firming as much as 0.1
percent, while the ringgit too traded higher, up 0.1 percent.
THAI BAHT
Thailand's economic growth unexpectedly stalled in
July-September, contrary to expectations of some growth in spite
of softer exports and tourism, data showed on Monday.
Southeast Asia's second-largest economy showed no expansion
in July-September from the previous three months on a seasonally
adjusted basis.
The quarterly reading was the weakest since the first
quarter of 2014, when the economy shrank 0.4 percent, and the
baht weakened slightly after the data release.
"The disappointing Q3 GDP makes it more difficult for the
Bank of Thailand to hike in December, despite the vote of 4-3 at
the November MPC meeting," said Frances Cheung, head of macro at
Westpac.
The following table shows rates for Asian currencies against
the dollar at 0516 GMT.
CURRENCIES VS U.S. DOLLAR
Currency Latest bid Previous day Pct Move
Japan yen 112.750 112.82 +0.06
Sing dlr 1.374 1.3719 -0.15
Taiwan dlr 30.896 30.888 -0.03
Korean won 1128.700 1128.5 -0.02
Baht 32.980 32.93 -0.15
Peso 52.640 52.715 +0.14
Rupiah 14618.000 14608 -0.07
Rupee 71.960 71.92 -0.06
Ringgit 4.188 4.19 +0.05
Yuan 6.944 6.9351 -0.13
Change so far in 2018
Currency Latest bid End 2017 Pct Move
Japan yen 112.750 112.67 -0.07
Sing dlr 1.374 1.3373 -2.66
Taiwan dlr 30.896 29.848 -3.39
Korean won 1128.700 1070.50 -5.16
Baht 32.980 32.58 -1.21
Peso 52.640 49.93 -5.15
Rupiah 14618.000 13565 -7.20
Rupee 71.960 63.87 -11.24
Ringgit 4.188 4.0440 -3.44
Yuan 6.944 6.5069 -6.30
(Reporting by Aby Jose Koilparambil in Bengaluru; Editing by
Kim Coghill)