Most emerging Asian currencies fell on Monday, with the Thai baht hitting a five-month low, as hedge funds reduced their exposure to riskier asskets after mass euro zone sovereign rating cuts by Standard & Poor's. Still, traders reported some investors continued to buy regional units on hopes for more inflows to Asia in search if higher yields. Markets are also concerned the euro zone's bailout fund, EFSF, might lose its AAA rating with S&P as well.
Dollar/baht rose to as high as 31.99, the highest since August 16, as local and foreign players bought the pair, while its upside was limited by Japanese players, dealers said. The dollar/baht's 14-day relative strength index (RSI) rose to 66.4, close to the 70 threshold, indicating the pair is approaching to overbought territory.
Offshore funds bought dollar/won, although its gains were capped by dollar supplies linked to foreign investors' purchases of Hyundai Heavy Industries' shares. Exporters also sold the pair for settlements. Last week, South Korean KCC sold 697.2 billion won ($607.21 million) worth of shares in Hyundai .
Foreigners bought 604.5 billion won of shares on Friday alone, stock exchange data showed, just slightly below the 669 billion won they bought this year through Thursday. Traders said this data suggests that foreigners bought most of Hyundai's shares.
Dollar/Philippine peso rose as investors covered short-positions. Some players expected further gains in the pair, seeing market as still short. European bank dealer in Manila, adding the pair has room to rise to 44.20 and 44.40.
Dollar/rupiah rose but some investors were looking to sell the pair on rallies, saying dollar liquidity in the onshore market has been improving. The central bank's chief also said it would continue to intervene in the currency market to guard the rupiah, which is the worst-performing emerging Asian currency so far this year, according to Thomson Reuters' data.