EM ASIA FX-Most Asian currencies down on the week on Brexit jitters
(Updates prices, adds text)
By Masayuki Kitano
SINGAPORE, June 17 (Reuters) - Asian currencies were
generally steady versus the dollar on Friday, but most were on
track for weekly losses as investors fretted about the risk that
Britain may vote to leave the European Union in a referendum
next week.
The South Korean won eased 0.1 percent versus the
dollar, with trade having calmed down after early volatile trade
following a fake report on the death of North Korean leader Kim
Jong Un which rattled foreign exchange markets.
The Indian rupee edged up 0.2 percent on the day,
outperforming regional peers after data on Thursday showed that
India came within a whisker of a trade surplus in the first
quarter.
A recent rise in the Reserve Bank of India's foreign
exchange reserves to a record high has been another supportive
factor for the rupee, said Wu Mingze, FX trader of global
payments for financial services provider INTL FCStone in
Singapore.
Amid the focus on Britain's June 23 referendum on EU
membership, most Asian currencies were on track for weekly
losses. The losses were mild, however, as the U.S. Federal
Reserve signalled a cautious approach to raising interest rates
and that weighed on the dollar.
The ringgit led the weekly declines with a drop of
0.9 percent versus the dollar.
Bucking the broader trend, the Singapore dollar has
risen 0.7 percent this week, outshining its regional peers.
The Singapore dollar is regarded as a safe haven currency
within the region because of Singapore's current account surplus
and triple-A sovereign rating.
INDONESIAN RUPIAH
The rupiah held steady, showing resilience in the
wake of a surprise interest rate cut by Indonesia's central bank
on Thursday.
Bank Indonesia (BI) cut both its current and future
benchmark rates by 25 basis points to 6.50 percent and 5.25
percent, respectively.
Indonesia's central bank will ease monetary policy further
if there is room to do so, deputy governor Perry Warjiyo said on
Friday, a day after Bank Indonesia cut interest rates.
SINGAPORE DOLLAR
The Singapore dollar's nominal effective exchange rate
(NEER) has strengthened to around 100 basis points above the
mid-point of the Monetary Authority of Singapore's (MAS) policy
band, according to estimates by analysts at Citi.
The rise in the Singapore dollar NEER may have been
exaggerated by safe haven flows, they said in a research note.
"If Brexit were to happen, whether MAS re-centres the band
downwards will depend on its assessment of the real economy,
which may depend heavily on incoming data," the Citi analysts
said.
"While an outsized surge in financial market volatility may
trigger market speculation on band-widening, we do not see an
immediate urgency to do so, as MAS can simply tolerate larger
swings within the existing policy band," they added.
The MAS manages policy by letting the Singapore dollar rise
or fall against the currencies of its main trading partners
within an undisclosed policy band based on its nominal effective
exchange rate (NEER).
CURRENCIES VS U.S. DOLLAR
Change on the day at 0632 GMT
Currency Latest bid Previous Pct Move
day
Japan yen 104.34 104.25 -0.09
Sing dlr 1.3504 1.3485 -0.14
Taiwan dlr 32.373 32.391 +0.06
Korean won 1172.26 1171.40 -0.07
Baht 35.28 35.22 -0.17
Peso 46.440 46.430 -0.02
Rupiah 13360 13365 +0.04
Rupee 67.16 67.28 +0.18
Ringgit 4.1040 4.1000 -0.10
Yuan 6.5885 6.5917 +0.05
Change so
far in 2016
Currency Latest bid End prev Pct Move
year
Japan yen 104.34 120.30 +15.30
Sing dlr 1.3504 1.4177 +4.98
Taiwan dlr 32.373 33.066 +2.14
Korean won 1172.26 1172.50 +0.02
Baht 35.28 36.00 +2.04
Peso 46.44 47.06 +1.34
Rupiah 13360 13785 +3.18
Rupee 67.16 66.15 -1.50
Ringgit 4.1040 4.2935 +4.62
Yuan 6.5885 6.4936 -1.44
(Additional reporting by Dahee Kim in Seoul; Editing by Simon
Cameron-Moore)