Most emerging Asian currencies edged up on Thursday as the dollar eased broadly after US Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen's dovish comments on monetary policy, while trading was subdued ahead of a holiday in some markets. The Thai baht led gains on foreign funds' inflows to the country's stocks and bonds.
Yellen said on Wednesday that persistently low inflation poses a more immediate threat to the US economy than rising prices, stressing that the US central bank would be delivering policy stimulus for some time to come. Still, investors hesitated to add more bullish bets on emerging Asian currencies with regional equities making just a slight gain following disappointing results from Google Inc and IBM Corp.
Also, some regional markets such as Singapore and Hong Kong will be closed for the Easter holiday on Friday. "It is not a time to invest with strong conviction. Investors are just jabbing," said Jeong My-young, Samsung Futures' research head in Seoul. The baht rose as foreign investors bought government bonds and Thai stocks. The 10-year bond yield fell to 3.53 percent, its lowest since May 31, while the five-year yield slid to 3.08 percent, the lowest since June 7.
The Singapore dollar turned weaker after March exports fell more than expected, darkening the city-state's trade outlook. Non-oil domestic exports slid 6.6 percent in March from a year earlier, according to the trade agency International Enterprise Singapore, far below a median forecast of a 0.8 percent dip in a Reuters poll. Before the data, the Singapore dollar had risen as much as 0.2 percent to 1.2485 to the US dollar.
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