Won leads falls in Asian currencies

The South Korean won hit a one-week low against the dollar, leading overall falls in Asian currencies on Thursday as China's surprise trade deficit and less hawkish comments by the central bank prompted investors to cover dollar short positions. The Bank of Korea raised interest rates as expected but hinted it would not accelerte policy tightening despite stronger-than-expected inflation.
That could cause investors to sell the won for currencies in Asia where central banks are more keen to rein in prices, such as Singapore, analysts said. Singapore is widely expected to tighten in April. Malaysia's central bank is seen keeping rates steady on Friday, a Reuters poll showed, but the country remains relatively shielded by price controls and food and fuel subsidies.
The won turned lower against the dollar as investors at home and abroad covered dollar short positions after the Bank of Korea raised interest rates by 25 basis points (bps) as expected. The won weakened to as soft as 1,122.4 per dollar, the weakest since March 3. The Singapore dollar weakened to as soft as 1.2717 versus the US Dollar, the weakest since March 2. The Thai baht erased much of its gains on dollar short coverings. The baht strengthened to as firm as 30.18 per dollar, the strongest since January 7.