The South Korean won stood tall on Tuesday as the major gainer among emerging Asian currencies struggling for momentum in the face of a firm dollar as investors exercised caution ahead of the hotly contested US presidential election.
The dollar is headed for its best month in 2-1/2-years as markets rein in their rate cut expectations and as the market braces for a potential win next week for Donald Trump, whose measures could pressure Asian currencies.
“The election outcome is still too close to call and investors would probably want to see the results of the elections before making a further move on whether to adjust their position,” said Sim Moh Siong, FX strategist at Bank of Singapore.
The won rose as much as 0.5%, on track for its strongest day in over two weeks, after local media reported that a voting board member of the central bank was not worried about dollar liquidity after the won’s weakness this year.
Other currencies in the region were subdued.
The Indonesian rupiah and Malaysian ringgit inched down 0.3% and 0.2%, respectively.
The rupiah, down nearly 4% against the dollar this month, is on track for its weakest month since March 2020, while the ringgit was set to log its biggest monthly fall since November 2016.
The Thai baht has declined 5.2% against the dollar so far in October, while the Singapore dollar is heading for its weakest month since November 2016.
“If Trump wins, there would be further depreciatory pressure on ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) FX, particularly SGD, MYR, and THB,” wrote Lloyd Chan, senior currency analyst at MUFG.
Asian currencies: South Korean won hits 3-month low
“IDR would also be under pressure in a period of sustained US dollar strength and high-for-longer US rates.”
In stock markets, shares in Seoul shed as much as 0.6%, while Taiwan dropped as much as 2.1% to its lowest in nearly three weeks, while awaiting earnings from US megacap companies such as Alphabet and Apple.
“Investors are concerned about valuations, given that the US tech stocks have rallied quite substantially, and the tension between US and China could possibly go up depending on the US election outcome,” Siong said.
Elsewhere, Manila stocks lost 1.2%, hitting their lowest level in more than a month, while Thai shares gained as much as 0.6%.