EM ASIA FX-Singapore dollar at 3-week high on safe-haven plays; Asia FX firm
* Ringgit up on fixing demand; intervention spotted
* Baht gains on more short-covering
* Rupiah advances as bond inflows expected
(Adds text, updates prices)
By Jongwoo Cheon
SINGAPORE, Feb 4 (Reuters) - The Singapore dollar hit a near
three-week high on Tuesday as global risk aversion fuelled
safe-haven demand, leading gains among emerging Asian currencies
as the region is seen better positioned than other emerging
markets.
The Malaysian ringgit advanced on bids linked to
daily fixing and with the central bank spotted intervening to
support the currency, traders said.
Indonesia's rupiah gained as foreign banks and
state-run lenders bought it ahead of a bond auction on
Wednesday. The Thai baht rose as investors continued to
cover short positions.
That compared to losses in other emerging market currencies
such as the Brazilian real and the Turkish lira.
"Asia shouldn't suffer as much fallout as other emerging
market regions. And of course a fair degree of bad news is
already in the price," said Jonathan Cavenagh, senior FX
strategist with Westpac in Singapore.
Still, it is premature to add bullish bets on emerging Asian
currencies, given growing risk aversion, analysts and traders
said.
U.S. manufacturing activity slowed sharply in January and
China's factory growth eased to an expected six-month low.
"The market bias remains to buy dips in USD/Asia and that
seems unlikely to change in the near term," Cavenagh said.
"We have to wait for a turnaround in data momentum within
the Asia region and a softer U.S. picture to emerge, which may
calm fears about an aggressive tapering schedule."
SINGAPORE DOLLAR
The Singapore dollar rose 0.4 percent to 1.2703 to
the U.S. dollar, its strongest since Jan. 15, as investors
sought safer assets in Asia with the city-state's triple A
ratings.
The currency found more support from demand against the
ringgit and the baht. The ringgit fell to
its lowest since July 1998 to the Singapore dollar.
BAHT
The baht gained as offshore funds and local interbank
speculators covered short positions.
The number of anti-government protesters appears to have
dwindled, even though the opposition party will challenge the
weekend's disrupted elections in court.
A Thai bank trader said the baht may be well supported as
investors appeared to hold bearish bets despite sustained
concerns over political tensions.
"Ignore poor performance in equities," said the trader.
RUPIAH
The rupiah rose, tracking its gains in non-deliverable
forwards and on expectations of bond inflows.
The government aims to raise 10 trillion rupiah ($817
million) in a bond auction on Wednesday.
"I expect inflows for the tomorrow's auction after the trade
balance data," said a Jakarta-based trader, referring to the
December surplus, which was the largest in two years.
The rupiah may head to 12,150 per dollar, but the rebound
may be a good chance for importers to buy the greenback, the
trader added.
WON
The won earlier lost as much as 0.5 percent to 1,089.9 per
dollar, its weakest since Sept. 9, as continuous foreign selling
pushed Seoul shares to their lowest in more than five
months.
The South Korean currency recovered most of the earlier
losses as exporters' bids for settlements prompted stop-loss
dollar selling with chart support lines around 1,092 and 1,094.
It has the 38.2 percent Fibonacci retracement at 1,092.3 of
its appreciation between June and January. The 200-day moving
average also stands at 1,093.8.
Offshore funds were not really interested in selling the won
either, traders said.
"The won's recent losses were excessive compared to other
Asian currencies," said a foreign bank trader in Singapore,
adding that the won is seen moving between 1,075 and 1,085.
The won was the worst performing Asian currency so far this
year with a 2.7 percent loss against the dollar, according to
Thomson Reuters data.
CURRENCIES VS U.S. DOLLAR
Change on the day at 0430 GMT
Currency Latest bid Previous day Pct Move
Japan yen 101.28 100.97 -0.31
Sing dlr 1.2703 1.2758 +0.43
*Taiwan dlr 30.350 30.376 +0.09
Korean won 1085.00 1084.50 -0.05
Baht 32.86 32.95 +0.27
Peso 45.43 45.41 -0.03
Rupiah 12210.00 12235.00 +0.20
Rupee 62.72 62.56 -0.26
Ringgit 3.3375 3.3465 +0.27
*Yuan 6.0600 6.0600 0.00
Change so far in 2014
Currency Latest bid End prev year Pct Move
Japan yen 101.28 105.28 +3.94
Sing dlr 1.2703 1.2632 -0.56
Taiwan dlr 30.350 29.950 -1.32
Korean won 1085.00 1055.40 -2.73
Baht 32.86 32.86 +0.00
Peso 45.43 44.40 -2.27
Rupiah 12210.00 12160.00 -0.41
Rupee 62.72 61.80 -1.47
Ringgit 3.3375 3.2755 -1.86
Yuan 6.0600 6.0539 -0.10
* Financial markets in China and Taiwan are closed for
holidays.
($1 = 12,240 rupiah)
(Additional reporting by IFR Markets Catherine Tan; Editing by
Chris Gallagher)