Asian currencies slide

The South Korean won and the Singapore dollar weakened past key chart support lines on Monday, leading slides among emerging Asian currencies as investors dumped riskier assets on worries China could impose new curbs to cool property prices.
The Singapore dollar breached a 200-day moving average and a 55-week moving average on hedge funds offers and stop-loss selling. Offshore funds sent the won below a 120-day moving average despite demand from South Korean exporters. The Malaysian ringgit slid on dollar-short covering, while the Indonesian rupiah fell due to profit-taking and importers' dollar demand.
Emerging Asian currencies weakened as regional stocks fell, led by Chinese ones, as Beijing said it could impose harsher-than-expected tightening measures to contain housing costs. The US dollar broadly gained. Regional units are expected to stay weaker as global risk appetites wane and the Bank of Japan is seen taking more aggressive expansionary steps under a new governor, analysts and traders said. "Bear in mind Asian units face weakness on two fronts, a strong dollar and a weak yen," said Suresh Kumar Ramanathan, head of regional interest rate and FX strategy at CIMB Investment Bank in Kuala Lumpur.
The won ended domestic trading down 0.9 percent to 1,093.2 per dollar, weakening past a 120-day moving average at 1,089.8. Offshore macro funds and model accounts dumped the South Korean currency, traders said. The Singapore dollar touched 1.2486 to the greenback, its weakest since September 5, breaking through a 200-day moving average at 1.2398 and a 55-week moving average at 1.2439. It weakened past the 38.2 percent Fibonacci retracement at 1.2465 of its appreciation between June and October 2012, even temporarily breaching a 100-week moving average at 1.2482.
The rupiah fell as the US dollar's broader rise against a basket of currencies, thanks to improving American economic data, prompted buying by importers. But a further fall was halted as exporters sought the rupiah to settle deals. Custodian banks also bought the Indonesian currency, traders said.
"Dollar/rupiah might be back below 9,700," said a Jakarta-based trader, adding the pair is seen facing a resistance level at 9,720. The ringgit fell as investors added dollar holdings on global risk appetite. Still, the Malaysian currency found relief from demand by local corporates at around 3.1100 to the greenback, traders said. "We need to wait for London to come in then will be able to push dollar/ringgit higher," said a Asian bank trader in Singapore, referring to offshore investors in Europe.