EM ASIA FX-Most currencies slip as dollar firms, won and peso gain

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By Aditya Soni

Nov 16 (Reuters) - Most Asian currencies weakened on

Thursday as the U.S. dollar firmed, boosted by solid U.S. data

though its gains were capped by doubts over the prospects for

U.S. tax reform.

Data out on Wednesday showed that U.S. underlying consumer

prices rose in October, supporting the idea that a recent

disinflationary trend that had worried the Federal Reserve had

ended. There was also an unexpected rise in retail sales last

month.

"Taken together these data (inflation and retail sales)

suggest there is little to sway the U.S. Fed from a December

hike and further hikes across the course of 2018. That's part of

the reason the US dollar – which fell to around 93.40 in DXY

terms before recovering to 93.77 – found a bid and rallied,"

said Greg McKenna, chief market strategist at CFD and FX

provider AxiTrader.

But dollar strength was limited by uncertainity over a

Senate Republican tax plan that drew fire from two Republican

lawmakers on Wednesday in what could be a sign of trouble for

the sweeping measure.

The Chinese yuan led the losses among the

regional currencies as it weakened more than 25 basis points.

The People's Bank of China will inject 330 billion yuan

($49.85 billion) into money markets on Thursday, traders said.

The yuan is expected to trade in a range of 6.50-6.70 in the

weeks ahead. The PBOC’s liquidity injection was aimed at

avoiding risks arising from a selloff in bonds, Scotiabank said

in a note.

China's Ministry of Finance on Wednesday auctioned 32

billion yuan ($4.82 billion) of seven-year bonds at an average

yield of 3.9644 percent, traders said, below market

expectations.

The Indian rupee fell 0.2 percent, while the

Malaysian ringgit, Indonesian rupiah and

Singapore dollar all weakened marginally.

KOREAN WON

Bucking the trend, the Korean won firmed 0.6

percent to its highest since Oct. 2016, in tandem with the KOSPI

stock index which rose almost half a percent.

Foreign currency deposits in South Korean banks at

end-October rose briskly from September, posting the

biggest-ever monthly jump as exporters lifted their dollar

holdings, the Bank of Korea said on Thursday.

The country's exports boom continued last month, marking 12

consecutive months of growth, propelled by soaring sales of

memory chips, the trade ministry said earlier this month.

PHILIPPINE PESO

The Philippine peso strengthened 0.3 percent as

the country's economy clocked solid growth in the third quarter,

topping forecasts and expanding at its fastest pace in a year,

the statistics agency said on Thursday.

Gross domestic product rose 6.9 percent in the third quarter

from a year earlier, supported by strong industrial output and

services.

The Philippines is benefiting from the steady rebound in

exports, which were up 12.2 percent in the nine months to

September.

The following table shows rates for Asian currencies against

the dollar at 0524 GMT.

CURRENCIES VS U.S. DOLLAR

Change on the day at 0524 GMT

Currency Latest bid Previous day Pct Move

Japan yen 113.030 112.86 -0.15

Sing dlr 1.357 1.3565 -0.06

Taiwan dlr 30.130 30.150 +0.07

Korean won 1105.400 1112.3 +0.62

Baht 33.005 33.01 +0.02

Peso 50.890 51.04 +0.29

Rupiah 13542.000 13533 -0.07

Rupee 65.343 65.21 -0.20

Ringgit 4.178 4.173 -0.11

Yuan 6.638 6.6195 -0.28

Change so far

Currency Latest bid End 2016 Pct Move

Japan yen 113.030 117.07 +3.57

Sing dlr 1.357 1.4490 +6.76

Taiwan dlr 30.130 32.279 +7.13

Korean won 1105.400 1207.70 +9.25

Baht 33.005 35.80 +8.47

Peso 50.890 49.72 -2.30

Rupiah 13542.000 13470 -0.53

Rupee 65.343 67.92 +3.94

Ringgit 4.178 4.4845 +7.35

Yuan 6.638 6.9467 +4.65

(Reporting by Aditya Soni in Bengaluru; Editing by Eric Meijer)