Asian forex hobbled by absence of catalysts
> US-China trade war fears continue to linger as countries start to introduce measures to prepare for tariffs
BENGALURU: Most Asian currencies struggled for traction yesterday as the backdrop of an US-driven international trade war and the absence of positive catalysts kept investor sentiment largely in check.
The Philippine peso, which has been hovering around 12-year lows, came under more strain as the nation’s trade deficit widened further in May.
“Trade war risk is likely to linger in the background as countries start to introduce measures to prepare for tariffs staying for a potentially longer-than-expected period,” Mizuho said in a note.
The dollar’s index against a basket of six major currencies hovered around June’s lows, up just a touch on the day at 94.181, mainly capped by disappointing wages growth in an otherwise solid US payrolls report on Friday.
The Chinese yuan pushed higher for the second day, up 0.1% to 6.605 on the dollar, helped by the combination of a firmer official yuan fixing, a broadly softer greenback and some easing of Sino-US trade tensions.
While both China and the United States hit each other’s goods with tariffs on Friday, the focus now is on whether the dispute would ratchet up further or if officials in Beijing and Washington will find a way to ease off the tense trade relations.
Data earlier in the day showed China’s producer inflation, a gauge of industrial profitability, rose by a stronger-thanexpected 4.7% in June. The worry is that an uptick in factory-gate prices could put more pressure on the country’s exporters as trade dispute with the US prolongs. The Indian rupee eased 0.1% to 68.790. A Reuters poll showed inflation is likely to rise to a near two-year high in June, a development that would strengthen calls for more monetary tightening by the central bank.
The Malaysian ringgit rose to 4.009 per dollar, a day ahead of Bank Negara Malaysia’s (BNM) policy meeting, where interest rates are expected to remain unchanged.
As a net oil exporter, rising prices “will benefit exports for Malaysia and hence that’s helped to provide an additional kick for the ringgit today,” said Khoon Goh, ANZ’s head of Asia research.
Analysts say that with the abolishment of the Goods and Services Tax, there’s little inflationary pressure to trouble BNM Governor Datuk Nor Shamsiah Mohd Yunus in her first policy meeting, even as other regional central banks hiked rates to bolster their respective currencies.
The ringgit has outperformed its Southeast Asian peers in the region, amid an exodus from emerging markets as rising trade tensions have turned investors riskaverse. – Reuters