The South Korean won and Indonesian rupiah bounced back sharply from multi-week lows as the dollar retreated broadly after better-than-expected US growth data revived appetite for risky assets. The dollar steadied after falling on data showing the world's largest economy expanded 3.5 percent in the third quarter, ending a deep slump. The data lifted growth-linked currencies and euro, which had been hit by profit-taking.
RUPIAH:
The rupiah gained 0.8 percent to 9,500 per dollar as improved risk taking, rebounding after falling to a one-month low on Thursday on profit-taking. "Risk appetite improves after better US GDP data and rupiah is benefiting from it," said a trader in Jakarta. "But hedge funds usually take profit in the month of November and they are just waiting for another moment."
OCBC strategist Emmanuel Ng expected the rupiah to weaken to 9,600-10,000 in the near term, since NDF premiums were still not elevated. But he believed the rupiah will strengthen over the longer term due to Indonesia's strong economic fundamentals.
PESO: The peso gained 0.6 percent to 47.465 to the dollar, snapping a two-week decline. "One-month NDF was quickly sold down and with the dollar losing ground across the board especially in the NY session, a good bulk of dollar selling interest was built up at today's peso open," said a Manila-based dealer.
One-month dollar/peso NDFs hovered near 47.60, implying a 0.2 percent peso fall from the spot. Meanwhile, the NDF curve flattened as investors offer NDFs across the curve. "The curve basically moves in line with the general tone of the day, the short-end is offered while the longer-term obviously follows onshore demand/supply and interest rates," said a Singapore-based NDF trader.
WON: The won was the day's top performer, jumping over 1 percent to 1,179.65 per dollar before pulling back to the weaker side of 1,180 as traders spotted dollar-buying intervention by authorities. It was little moved by stronger-than-expected factory output data. The won hit 1,205.5 on Thursday, lowest in more than a month. Seoul shares rose 0.5 percent as foreign investors bought a net 39.0 billion won worth of local stocks.