EM ASIA FX-Bullish Fed hurts Asia FX; Singapore dlr rebounds
* Ringgit falls on low oil prices concerns
* Won around 4-week low on offshore selling
* Singapore dlr rises on intervention caution; outlook dark
(Adds text, updates prices)
By Jongwoo Cheon
SEOUL, Jan 29 (Reuters) - Most emerging Asian currencies
fell on Thursday as the U.S. Federal Reserve appeared on track
to raise interest rates this year while there are risks that
regional central banks instead may ease monetary policies.
The Malaysian ringgit hit a near six-year low as an
overnight slide in oil prices highlighted concerns that slumping
crude will hurt the country's current account surplus and
increase its fiscal deficit.
South Korea's won touched a near four-week low as
offshore funds sold it, while Taiwan's dollar slid on
short-covering in the U.S. dollar.
The Singapore dollar, however, rebounded on caution
over potential intervention by the central bank to support it.
Still, its outlook stayed pessimistic after Wednesday's
unexpected monetary policy easing.
The Fed said on Wednesday the U.S. economy was expanding "at
a solid pace" with strong job gains, signalling that the central
bank remains on track with its plans to hike borrowing costs in
2015.
"With the Fed's healthy economic assessment, Asian
currencies may stay under pressure for the time being," said
Yuna Park, a currency and bond analyst at Dongbu Securities in
Seoul.
"Asian countries may take similar policy stances with
Singapore's move through driving their currencies weaker," she
said.
Prior to the Fed statement, emerging Asian currencies had
been supported, partially due to some expectations it might take
a dovish stance at a time other central banks have eased policy
amid fears of deflation.
RINGGIT
The ringgit fell 0.5 percent to 3.6350 per dollar, its
weakest since April 2009.
The Malaysian currency's depreciation accelerated as a break
of the previous low of 3.6250 hit on Jan. 21 spurred selling,
traders said.
The unit pared some of its losses on caution over possible
intervention by the central bank to support the currency.
Traders largely ignored the central bank's decision on
Wednesday to keep interest rates unchanged, which was expected.
WON
The won lost as much as 0.9 percent to 1,094.7 per dollar,
its weakest since Jan. 9.
Offshore funds' offers caused local traders to cut their won
holdings.
Some traders dumped bullish bets on the won, which they had
built up on expectations of more demand from exporters for
month-end settlements.
TAIWAN DOLLAR
The Taiwan dollar slid as traders covered short positions in
the U.S. dollar after the Fed's statement.
Importers also bought the greenback for payments, while
exporters stayed away on expectations of further strength in the
U.S. dollar.
Traders remained cautious over possible intervention by the
island's central bank, saying that near the local market closing
time on previous sessions, the authority was spotted selling the
Taiwan dollar to stem its strength.
SINGAPORE DOLLAR
The Singapore dollar gained amid caution over possible
intervention by the central bank to support it after a surprise
easing sent the unit to a near four-and-a-half year low on
Wednesday.
Still, the city-state currency is expected to remain weak,
analysts and traders said.
"In a nutshell, expect the latest policy easing to continue
to put the hurt on the SGD, keeping the currency on lockdown as
a relative underperformer in the region," said Emmanuel Ng, a
foreign exchange strategist with OCBC Bank, in a client note.
Economists revised downward their forecasts for the
Singapore dollar.
Edward Teather, a senior economist with UBS, said the
investment bank revised its end-2015 forecast for the Singapore
dollar's value against the greenback to 1.4000.
Tim Condon, head of Asia research at ING, also said it
changed its year-end forecast to 1.4100 from 1.3600.
CURRENCIES VS U.S. DOLLAR
Change on the day at 0630 GMT
Currency Latest bid Previous day Pct Move
Japan yen 117.66 117.58 -0.07
Sing dlr 1.3510 1.3532 +0.16
Taiwan dlr 31.410 31.328 -0.26
Korean won 1092.75 1084.50 -0.75
Baht 32.60 32.53 -0.21
Peso 44.16 44.09 -0.17
Rupiah 12520.00 12485.00 -0.28
Rupee 61.50 61.41 -0.15
Ringgit 3.6300 3.6185 -0.32
Yuan 6.2490 6.2480 -0.02
Change so far in 2015
Currency Latest bid End prev year Pct Move
Japan yen 117.66 119.66 +1.70
Sing dlr 1.3510 1.3260 -1.85
Taiwan dlr 31.410 31.718 +0.98
Korean won 1092.75 1099.30 +0.60
Baht 32.60 32.90 +0.93
Peso 44.16 44.72 +1.27
Rupiah 12520.00 12380.00 -1.12
Rupee 61.50 63.03 +2.49
Ringgit 3.6300 3.4965 -3.68
Yuan 6.2490 6.2040 -0.72
(Additional reporting by Jeanny Kao in TAIPEI, Vidya
Ranganathan in SINGAPORE and IFR Markets' Catherine Tan; Editing
by Richard Borsuk)
