Asian forex: Most units weaken

Most emerging Asian currencies weakened against the dollar on Monday on deepening concerns over the economic damage from the coronavirus pandemic that has killed nearly 34,000 people around the world and pushed countries to enforce lockdowns.
US President Donald Trump on Sunday extended guidelines for social restrictions to April 30, while British authorities warned that lockdown measures could last months.
The International Monetary Fund also warned on Friday that the pandemic has already driven the global economy into recession and countries must respond with "very massive" spending.
"With this reality check and expectations for the onslaught of weak March numbers across various economies, it is no surprise we are seeing market sentiment staying weak, one to keep the haven assets including the US dollar buoyed," Jingyi Pan, market strategist at IG Asia said.
"The strong pull from the fiscal packages may help one get back on his feet after a fall, but to continue walking we might still need to see the road ahead first."
The Indonesian rupiah led declines, slipping 1.5%, and the South Korean won fell 0.9%.
With the South Korean economy being closely linked to global supply chains and Indonesian assets perceived as a risk barometer due to the high yields they offer, both the won and rupiah have witnessed increased volatility due to the pandemic.
Denting sentiment further was a rise in new coronavirus cases in both the countries, with Indonesian capital Jakarta announcing a two-week extension of its state of emergency.
The Indian rupee weakened 0.7%, as the number of infections surpassed 1,000 in Asia's third-largest economy, showing no signs of slowing despite a spate of measures by the central bank and a nationwide lockdown.
The Malaysian ringgit traded 0.4% lower and the Thai baht edged down.
The Singapore dollar rose as much as 0.5% to 1.422 against the greenback. While its central bank aggressively eased monetary policy, it was still not as bold as some in the market had expected, which lent some support to the local currency.
"We were expecting the magnitude of the re-centering to be a bit larger but it's a pretty aggressive move in itself already and we have to see how things pan out by the next policy meeting," Brian Tan, an economist at Barclays said.