TOKYO: Higher-yielding currencies in Asia moved higher against the dollar Thursday, as sentiment in emerging markets picked up as Brent crude passed $50 a barrel for the first time this year.
Analysts said recent data from the US indicated that the global economy was showing signs of a gradual recovery, but warned that it was unclear whether long-term sentiment could stay positive.
The oil-reliant Malaysian ringgit led gains among higher-yielding, but riskier, emerging units, up 0.6 percent.
The Taiwanese and Singapore dollars, Thai baht, Philippine peso and Indonesian rupiah also carved out gains against the dollar.
"Appetite for risk strengthened a bit but we will have to see whether this is a trend or a short-term spell," Stephen Lee, a Seoul-based economist at Samsung Securities, told Bloomberg News.
"US rate hike speculation is still there. The latest economic data point to a gradual but strong recovery momentum, which is a good thing for the global economy as well."
Asia stocks took a breather Thursday after a rally during the previous session, but energy firms were mostly up.
Investors are now closely watching a Group of Seven leaders' summit which kicked off earlier on Thursday in Japan, with the global economy expected to take centre stage.
The greenback also traded lower against the euro and yen, a move that analysts said they believed was due to technical factors.
"I would chalk it up to a pause, month-end is right around the corner," Joe Manimbo, a Washington-based analyst with Western Union Business Solutions told Bloomberg News.
"The dollar certainly is on a rosier path given that we've seen bullish data and hawkish commentary from a series of Fed officials."
The dollar dropped to 109.69 yen from 110.21 yen Wednesday in New York.
The euro ticked up to $1.1183 from $1.1154 in US trade, while slipping to 122.65 yen from 122.93 yen.
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