Most emerging Asian currencies strengthened in the second quarter, but at a slower pace than earlier on worries about the eurozone's debt crisis and the global economy that could make investors take a defensive stance on the regional units in the next three months.
The South Korean won and the Thai baht rose on Wednesday as real money accounts chased them, leading gains in their Asian peers on optimism over the coming Greek vote on austerity steps needed to avoid a default. The won, the best performing emerging Asian currency so far this year, has gained 1.9 percent against the dollar during the April-June, after rising 3.5 percent in the first quarter, according to Reuters' calculations.
The Malaysian ringgit has lost 0.2 percent in the second quarter after rising 1.8 percent in the January-March period. On Monday, the ringgit briefly weakened past a 200-day moving average, a long-term technical indicator. The won outperformed other emerging Asian currencies as real money accounts and hedge funds bought it, prompting short-squeezes among local interbank speculators.
Earlier, the South Korean currency found resistance as local importers bought dollars and speculators built up dollar-long positions. The baht rose 0.6 percent against the dollar on strong demand from real money investors and funds. US and Swiss names were touted as heavy buyers of the Thai currency.