TOKYO: Currencies in emerging Asia were mixed Thursday after Federal Reserve minutes were unable to provide any clarity on the future of its stimulus programme, while upbeat Chinese manufacturing data provided support.
The Indian rupee bounced back in early trade to sit at 64.10 to the dollar after sinking to a record low 64.72 late Wednesday, while the Indonesian rupiah traded at 10,755 to the dollar, around four-year lows but better than the 10,945 a day earlier. The Thai baht was at 32.11, compared with 31.77.
Minutes from the Fed's July policy meeting showed board members had differing opinions on when to wind down its $85 billion a month bond-buying, known as quantitative easing (QE). Some back a "taper" as soon as next month, while others said the bank needed to see more evidence the US economy was strong enough.
Fed boss Ben Bernanke has said it will not reel in the scheme until the economy can stand on its own two feet and unemployment is below seven percent.
In Tokyo Thursday the dollar rose to 98.20 yen from 97.67 yen in New York late Wednesday, while the euro bought $1.3338 from $1.3359. The single currency fetched 130.91 yen, against 130.46 yen.
"I personally didn't think the minutes gave any clear indication of whether tapering will begin next month or not, but the market reacted anyway with falls in shares, rise in yields and dollar-buying," said Kengo Suzuki, currency strategist at Mizuho Securities.
Expectations of an end to QE have seen foreigners in recent months repatriate some of the vast sums that poured into emerging economies when it was unveiled in September 2012, in turn hitting currencies and equities.
However, Marito Ueda, a top currency trader at FX Prime said: "Its massive pressure on emerging market currencies... is falling off slightly, as China's PMI (purchasing managers index) was better than expected."
Banking giant HSBC said preliminary readings show its PMI for China rose to 50.1 in August, compared with a final reading of 47.7 in July.
A reading above 50 indicates expansion from the previous month, while a reading below 50 indicates contraction.
The data -- the first to indicate growth in four months -- come after recent figures showing a pick-up in Chinese trade and tentatively suggest the under-pressure economy may be about to turn a corner.
Attention will now turn to the release later Thursday of US initial jobless claims, which will provide an idea of the state of the US economy.
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