The Thai baht inched up to its highest in 17 months against the dollar on Thursday, while the Philippine peso fell after data showed the economy grew at a slower-than-expected pace in the third quarter. The dollar tumbled to its lowest in 14 years against the yen and hit a 1-1/2 year low on the Swiss franc, helping gold scale another record high.
BAHT
The baht rose almost 0.4 percent to 33.02 per dollar, its highest since June 2008, benefiting from the yen's jump against the dollar, but its gains were capped by suspected official dollar-buying intervention. "Dollar/baht still looks heavy after 33.16 was broken since yesterday.
I'm looking for 33.10-33.15 range today," said a dealer in Bangkok. The Bank of Thailand has kept baht on a tight leash in recent weeks through intervention, traders say. The baht has been moving within a narrow corridor of 33.10-33.50 so far this month.
PESO
The peso fell to 46.86 per dollar, down 0.3 percent from Wednesday's close, after data showed the economy grew a slower-than-expected 0.8 percent in the third quarter from a year ago. "The weaker-than-expected GDP miraculously coincides with the fall in euro and Australian dollar and markets all went to cover dollars onshore," said a Manila-based dealer.
"If risk aversion continues then we might get a short cover towards 46.90 later on," added the dealer. In offshore markets, one-month dollar/peso NDFs rise to 46.85, implying a 0.2% peso fall from spot. "It's due to dollar covering but the (NDF) curve has not changed much," says a trader in Singapore.
DONG
The Vietnamese dong traded at 18,485 per dollar on the onshore interbank market, down 2.8 percent from the central bank's daily mid-point rate. Vietnam on Wednesday announced a one-off currency devaluation, which took effect on Thursday. The central bank devalued the dong by more than 5 percent by setting its the mid-point rate at 17,961 on Thursday to help relieve some pressure on the bealeaguered currency.