Most Asian currencies slipped against the dollar on Wednesday, with the Indonesian rupiah leading the pack, as a rising global death toll from the novel coronavirus soured risk sentiment.
Investors sought shelter in safe havens as optimism faded that the coronavirus crisis in Europe and New York was slowing, sending the dollar higher a day after it posted its biggest drop against a basket of currencies in nearly two weeks.
The Indonesian rupiah eased 0.7% following a 1.5% jump late in the previous session after the central bank said it received a $60 billion credit line from the US Federal Reserve to increase onshore dollar supply.
The Chinese yuan slipped 0.3% in its biggest intraday drop in two weeks. The Thai baht, the Singapore dollar and the Indian rupee lost between 0.1% and 0.4%. The Philippine peso weakened 0.2%, on course for a second session of drop. The Malaysian ringgit pared early losses to trade flat as oil prices reversed course on hopes that a meeting between OPEC members and allied producers would trigger output cuts.