AGL 40.02 Increased By ▲ 0.02 (0.05%)
AIRLINK 127.35 Increased By ▲ 0.31 (0.24%)
BOP 6.61 Decreased By ▼ -0.06 (-0.9%)
CNERGY 4.49 Decreased By ▼ -0.02 (-0.44%)
DCL 8.70 Increased By ▲ 0.15 (1.75%)
DFML 41.75 Increased By ▲ 0.31 (0.75%)
DGKC 87.65 Increased By ▲ 0.80 (0.92%)
FCCL 32.61 Increased By ▲ 0.33 (1.02%)
FFBL 64.99 Increased By ▲ 0.19 (0.29%)
FFL 10.25 No Change ▼ 0.00 (0%)
HUBC 109.54 Decreased By ▼ -0.03 (-0.03%)
HUMNL 14.70 Increased By ▲ 0.02 (0.14%)
KEL 5.08 Increased By ▲ 0.03 (0.59%)
KOSM 7.58 Increased By ▲ 0.12 (1.61%)
MLCF 41.30 Decreased By ▼ -0.08 (-0.19%)
NBP 59.70 Decreased By ▼ -0.71 (-1.18%)
OGDC 193.70 Increased By ▲ 3.60 (1.89%)
PAEL 28.30 Increased By ▲ 0.47 (1.69%)
PIBTL 7.74 Decreased By ▼ -0.09 (-1.15%)
PPL 151.75 Increased By ▲ 1.69 (1.13%)
PRL 26.26 Decreased By ▼ -0.62 (-2.31%)
PTC 16.10 Increased By ▲ 0.03 (0.19%)
SEARL 83.50 Decreased By ▼ -2.50 (-2.91%)
TELE 7.77 Increased By ▲ 0.06 (0.78%)
TOMCL 35.49 Increased By ▲ 0.08 (0.23%)
TPLP 8.14 Increased By ▲ 0.02 (0.25%)
TREET 16.16 Decreased By ▼ -0.25 (-1.52%)
TRG 53.40 Increased By ▲ 0.11 (0.21%)
UNITY 26.37 Increased By ▲ 0.21 (0.8%)
WTL 1.25 Decreased By ▼ -0.01 (-0.79%)
BR100 9,953 Increased By 69.4 (0.7%)
BR30 30,908 Increased By 307.7 (1.01%)
KSE100 93,812 Increased By 456.3 (0.49%)
KSE30 29,062 Increased By 130.9 (0.45%)
Markets

EM ASIA FX-Most Asian currencies weaken as virus cases jump

The Singapore dollar weakened 0.2pc on the day, while the baht dipped slightly. The Indonesian rupiah weakened
Published February 13, 2020
  • The Singapore dollar weakened 0.2pc on the day, while the baht dipped slightly.
  • The Indonesian rupiah weakened 0.2pc to its lowest level in more than a month. It is, however, the top performing currency so far this year.
  • The offshore yuan and onshore yuan slid about 0.2pc each above the 6.98 level.

Most emerging Asian currencies weakened on Thursday as a surge in the number of new coronavirus cases dampened risk sentiment, prompting a flight to safe-haven assets.

The Chinese province at the epicentre of the epidemic, Hubei, reported a record rise in the death toll and health experts warned that it could worsen before getting better.

The offshore yuan and onshore yuan slid about 0.2pc each above the 6.98 level. Analysts called it a knee-jerk reaction to the new numbers on infections and death in China.

Asian currencies have responded to the virus outbreak differently.

Export-focused currencies with greater trade-linkages to China have weakened substantially, with the Thai baht dropping 4.1pc and Singapore dollar slipping 3.2pc so far this year.

However, high-yielding currencies and those perceived to be relatively insulated from economic shocks have benefited, with the Indonesian rupiah and Philippine peso fairly resilient this year.

The Singapore dollar weakened 0.2pc on the day, while the baht dipped slightly.

A senior central bank official said on Thursday Thailand's economy may grow by less than 2pc this year.

The S.Korean won depreciated 0.2pc, while the Malaysian ringgit edged down.

The Indian rupee traded 0.2pc lower. Data on Wednesday showed the country's annual retail inflation accelerated to its highest level in nearly six years, while industrial output unexpectedly contracted.

The Indonesian rupiah weakened 0.2pc to its lowest level in more than a month. It is, however, the top performing currency so far this year.

"From a growth perspective India has kind of lagged and you need an emerging economy of substantial size and growth potential and still offering decent yields. So, the IDR becomes an obvious alternative," said Mahesh Sethuraman, deputy head of global sales trading at Saxo Capital Markets.

"If risk-on assets globally are down, then we may see some IDR weakness which is more structural."

The Taiwan dollar gained as much as 0.2pc, finding some support from the government's plans to spend $2 billion to help cushion the impact on the economy from the coronavirus.

Comments

Comments are closed.