Most currencies climb

Most emerging Asian currencies edged up on Friday, with the dollar reviving after US President Donald Trump said he wanted a "strong dollar", but market participants were sceptical it would be enough to change the currency's recent weak trend. The dollar bounced on Thursday after Trump told CNBC in an interview in Davos, Switzerland, that he ultimately wants the dollar to be strong.
Some market participants, however, were sceptical that Trump's comments would change the outlook on the dollar as its yield attraction will diminish if other global central banks wind up their stimulus policies. Concerns over US trade protectionism were also weighing on the dollar. In Asian currencies, the Thai baht rose as much as 0.5 percent to its highest since November 11, 2013, making it the best performer in the region.
The baht is on track for five straight weeks of gains. Thailand's central bank is worried that a rapid rise in the baht might hurt the economy and is ready to consider additional measures if moves in the currency are 'unusual', the governor said on Friday. The Malaysian ringgit climbed to nearly a two-year high, up as much as 0.2 percent, and on track for a sixth straight session of gains, while the Singapore dollar added as much as 0.3 percent.
The Chinese yuan edged up slightly, while the Taiwan dollar, the Philippine peso and Indonesia's rupiah all traded flat. 'The (emerging Asian) markets are digesting recent comments on FX from Washington. Though (President) Trump's comments somewhat paused the dollar decline, we believe broader macro trends are underpinning the dollar downtrend," said Christopher Wong, an FX strategist with Maybank.
"Notwithstanding rebounds which may be sporadic and short-lived amid stretched positioning, there are a handful of broader term shifts to support the case for broad dollar downtrend, including US tax reforms and its wider implication on deficit, debt and the dollar, reserve diversification away from the dollar, etc." The Korean won, on the other hand, slid as much as 0.8 percent, posting its biggest intraday percentage loss in over seven weeks.
Indian markets were closed for Republic Day holiday on Friday. China's yuan advanced further against the dollar on Friday, but at a much slower pace after the greenback broadly recovered. In the spot market, the onshore yuan opened at 6.3350 per dollar and was changing hands at 6.3280 at midday, 35 pips firmer than the previous late session close and 0.25 percent stronger than the midpoint. The currency was on track to mark its seventh straight weekly gain.