The South Korean won hit a near two-month high and the Malaysian ringgit breached a technical resistance on Thursday as real money accounts and leveraged funds bought emerging Asian currencies after Greece moved a step closer to international aid and avoid default.
The ringgit edged up 0.4 percent against the dollar in the second quarter, compared with a 1.8 percent advance in January-March period. The won hit a near two-month high against the dollar as offshore players such as real money accounts chased it and foreign investors kept buying local stocks. Exporters also purchased the local currency.
The South Korean currency strengthened to as firm as 1,067.3, the strongest since May 2. It has room to fall more, probably to the dollar/won's low of 1,064.9 on May 2, but it has a firm support at 1,057, dollar/won's high on July 2, 2008, days before the pair fell below 1,000 line.
The ringgit briefly breached a 55-day moving average as interbank speculators bought it with the euro's rebound to above $1.45. The ringgit appreciated as much as 0.7 percent to 3.0115 per dollar, breaking through the average of 3.0155. The ringgit may strengthen further, but it will face resistances around 2.9800-3.0000.