By Archishma Iyer
April 5 (Reuters) – The Thai baht and the South Korean won led gains among upbeat Asian currencies on Wednesday, as weak U.S economic data overnight raised hopes that the Federal Reserve’s streak of rate hikes may be nearing its end.
Trading was muted across the region as markets were shut in China, Hong Kong and Taiwan for a public holiday.
The Thai baht THB=TH rose about 0.5%. The tourism-reliant economy posted softer inflation data for March, cooling to its lowest in 15 months, although analysts believe another rate hike will be on the cards.
“We still note risk of another 25 bps rate hike in May as the Bank of Thailand’s rhetoric remains hawkish, even though inflationary pressures remain soft,” analysts from Barclays said in a research note.
The Thai central bank has raised its policy rate for five straight times to a total of 125 basis points since August, the most recent being last week.
Separately, Philippines’ annual inflation eased for the second straight month in March, supporting the case for pause in rate hikes from the country’s central bank.
The peso PHP= had fallen about 0.1% initially, after which it pared some losses to trade flat.
“We expect inflation to moderate further in April which could open the door for a BSP pause at the May meeting,” according to analysts from UOB.
Other currencies such as the Singapore dollar SGD=, South Korean won KRW=KFTC, Malaysian ringgit MYR= and the Indian rupee INR=IN traded higher between 0.2% and up 0.4%
Globally, data showed job openings in the world’s largest economy had dropped to their lowest level in February, signifying a cooler labour market and possibly providing enough reason for the Fed to pause its rate tightening cycle as recession worries heighten. MKTS/GLOB
That sent the safe-haven dollar =USD to a two-month low, pulled down by an overnight fall in the benchmark U.S. Treasury yields. The 10-year yield was last down to 3.3517%.
The dollar index, which measures the strength of the greenback against six major currencies, was at 101.58 at 0640 GMT.
“The labour market is typically the lagging indicator for the economy and any deterioration would serve as a more compelling factor for rate cuts within the year,” analysts from Maybank wrote.
In the stock market, equities in Singapore .STI, Philippines .PSI and South Korea .KS11 led gains for the day rising between 0.3% and 0.6%
Other markets like Kuala Lumpur .KLSE and Bangkok .SETI slid around 0.2%-0.7%.
HIGHLIGHTS:
** Indonesian 10-year benchmark yields fall 42
** South Korea to ease lending rules on foreign bank branches
** India’s services growth loses some steam in March, input cost inflation eases
Asia stock indexes and currencies at 0640 GMT
COUNTRY
FX RIC
FX DAILY %
FX YTD %
INDEX
STOCKS DAILY %
STOCKS YTD %
Japan
JPY=
+0.12
-0.32
.N225
-1.41
6.84
China
CNY=CFXS
–
+0.36
.SSEC
–
7.23
India
INR=IN
+0.18
+0.65
.NSEI
0.63
-3.30
Indonesia
IDR=
-0.20
+4.29
.JKSE
0.02
-0.24
Malaysia
MYR=
+0.20
+0.11
.KLSE
-0.22
-4.61
Philippines
PHP=
-0.01
+2.41
.PSI
0.28
-1.16
S.Korea
KRW=KFTC
+0.40
-3.51
.KS11
0.59
11.57
Singapore
SGD=
+0.06
+1.12
.STI
0.38
2.23
Taiwan
TWD=TP
–
+0.83
.TWII
–
12.24
Thailand
THB=TH
+0.50
+2.14
.SETI
-0.67
-5.11
(Reporting by Archishma Iyer in Bengaluru)
((Archishma.Iyer@thomsonreuters.com;))
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
