TOKYO: Emerging currencies surged against the dollar Monday as last week's dismal US jobs data reignited worries about the world's top economy and sent the greenback on a downward spiral.
The South Korean won, Indonesian rupiah and oil-reliant Malaysian ringgit soared around one percent against the dollar Monday afternoon after Friday's underwhelming jobs report all but ruled out the chances of a US interest rate hike in June.
The smallest monthly job creation tally in nearly six years caught markets off guard after Federal Reserve officials had repeatedly said a rate hike no later than July was on the cards.
"The weak US jobs data gives emerging markets another day to live," Jonathan Ravelas, chief market strategist at BDO Unibank in Manila, told Bloomberg News.
On Monday, the won climbed 1.3 percent, the ringgit tacked on 1.1 percent and the rupiah jumped 0.9 percent against the US unit.
The Taiwanese dollar and Philippine peso also booked healthy gains.
The dollar was also low against the safe-haven Japanese currency at 106.96 yen, up from 106.63 yen in New York but still sharply below levels of above 109 yen before the US report.
The euro dipped to $1.1340 from $1.1364 but it was also well up from the $1.1154 on Thursday, while rising to 121.30 yen from 121.17 yen.
But the greenback rallied against the British pound after opinion polls at the weekend showed more people saying they will vote to leave the European Union at this month's referendum.
Surveys by the Guardian, its sister paper the Observer, and ITV all had the leave camp picking up momentum ahead of the June 23 poll. The pound was at $1.4384 from $1.4515 Friday in New York.
There is widespread expectation that a break from the 28-country union would spur significant market turmoil and slow or stall the British economy.
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