BENGALURU: Asian currencies found some support on Friday after a volatile past few sessions, with the Singapore dollar and Thai baht creeping higher, while Malaysia’s ringgit held its ground despite a slowdown in growth in the third quarter.
Stocks in the region were a mixed bag with shares in Indonesia losing 1.3% to fall to their lowest since early August, while those in the Philippines advanced 1.6% breaking a seven-day losing streak.
Emerging market assets have been under pressure since early last week on the view that US President-elect Donald Trump’s proposed tariffs could further stoke inflation which could mean fewer Federal Reserve rate cuts.
“Optimism that was initially sparked by Fed easing bets around the middle of the year have largely evaporated,” DBS analysts said.
“Against this challenging backdrop, scope for Asia central bank easing has become more restrained while investor sentiment on local currency bonds/rates have also become more muted.”
Malaysian ringgit and Thai baht have lost 3% and 3.8%, respectively, since Nov. 5 as their open, trade-reliant economies, particularly with China, make them vulnerable to any tariff-related headwinds. On the day, the ringgit was steady while stocks in Kuala Lumpur inched lower after third-quarter economic growth came in line with expectations but slowed from an 18-month high in the previous quarter.
The central bank maintained its growth outlook for this year between 4.8% and 5.3%, and noted the US elections results could usher in near-term volatility but that it was too early to speak on the impact.
The South Korean won, highly sensitive to the yuan and trade relations with the United States, has also lost more than 1% since the outcome of the US elections became clear.
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