Most Asian currencies edge down

Most emerging Asian currencies edged down on Thursday, pressured by sustained worries over the euro zone debt crisis as investors keep a nervous eye on a Spanish bond sale, while the won recovered most early losses on suspected intervention. Regional units found some relief from hopes of near-term policy easing by China, but investors remained cautious before Spain's auction of two- and ten-year bonds later in the day, seen as a key test of investor risk appetite.
Emerging Asian currencies are likely to stay under pressure unless the bonds see strong demand, dealers and analysts said. Dollar/won rose to 1,141.8, above the top of the daily Ichimoku cloud near 1,139.0. South Korean importers bought the pair, while local interbank players added long positions.
The foreign exchange authorities were suspected of selling dollar/won, especially above 1,140, and exporters joined the offers, dealers said. The move caused interbank names to clear long positions. "It is highly possible that the authorities stepped in, I think," said a foreign bank dealer in Seoul. Dollar/baht rose on offshore fund bids amid worries about Spain's bond sale. The pair is seen gaining further, probably to 31.063, the high of April 4.
US dollar/Singapore dollar edged up on demand from hedge funds, although the pair is seen dropping in the longer term because of recent central bank tightening, dealers and analysts said. Standard Chartered recommended selling euro/Singapore dollar, saying central bank policy and Singapore's strong economic fundamentals would support the Singapore dollar, adding that the European Central Bank's liquidity measures implied that the euro would become the funding currency of choice. StanChart said in a note that it expected euro/Singapore dollar to fall to 1.5625 at the end of the second quarter from the current 1.6410.