Asian currencies had a weekly gain, led by Malaysia’s ringgit, on speculation the U.S. will delay raising interest rates and China may take more measures to boost growth.
The Bloomberg-JPMorgan Asia Dollar Index advanced as U.S. data showed retail sales barely budged in April and producer prices unexpectedly fell.
The People’s Bank of China, which lowered benchmark interest rates for the third time since November on Sunday, will loosen monetary policy further, according to economists surveyed by Bloomberg.
“This week we saw quite broad-based dollar selling,” said Vishnu Varathan, a Singapore-based economist at Mizuho Bank Ltd.
“China is aggressively trying to backstop the slide in growth. To some extent, that perhaps fed into the positive Asian currency sentiment.”
Malaysia’s ringgit climbed 0.9 percent against the dollar this week as of 4:37 p.m. in Kuala Lumpur, buoyed by a rebound in crude oil. India’s rupee rose 0.7 percent, the Taiwan dollar appreciated 0.5 percent and Singapore’s dollar gained 0.3 percent, Bloomberg data show.
The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index, a gauge of the greenback’s strength, declined 0.9 percent in a fifth weekly retreat. China’s yuan strengthened 0.05 percent, advancing for the first week in three.
The central bank will lower its one-year lending rate by a quarter of a percentage point to 4.85 percent before end-2015, while major banks’ reserve-requirement ratios will be reduced by one percentage point to 17.5 percent, according to a Bloomberg survey conducted May 10-12.
Crude Rebounds
Brent crude rose 1.9 percent this week, brightening prospects for Malaysia, the only net oil exporter among Asia’s major economies.
The economy expanded 5.6 percent in the three months through March from a year earlier, after climbing a revised 5.7 percent in the final quarter of 2014, official data showed on Friday.
Taiwan’s dollar gained this week as global funds boosted their holdings of the island’s stocks by $339 million over the last four days, exchange data show.
“Expectations for a U.S. rate increase are receding,” said Woods Chen, an economist at Ta Chong Bank Ltd. in Taipei. Taiwanese businesses are also remitting funds back from China, where interest rates are falling quickly, he said.
Elsewhere in Asia, the Philippine peso rose 0.3 percent this week, Indonesia’s rupiah advanced 0.2 percent, as did South Korea’s won. The Thai baht was little changed, while Vietnam’s dong fell 1 percent.
bloomberg.com
The Bloomberg-JPMorgan Asia Dollar Index advanced as U.S. data showed retail sales barely budged in April and producer prices unexpectedly fell.
The People’s Bank of China, which lowered benchmark interest rates for the third time since November on Sunday, will loosen monetary policy further, according to economists surveyed by Bloomberg.
“This week we saw quite broad-based dollar selling,” said Vishnu Varathan, a Singapore-based economist at Mizuho Bank Ltd.
“China is aggressively trying to backstop the slide in growth. To some extent, that perhaps fed into the positive Asian currency sentiment.”
Malaysia’s ringgit climbed 0.9 percent against the dollar this week as of 4:37 p.m. in Kuala Lumpur, buoyed by a rebound in crude oil. India’s rupee rose 0.7 percent, the Taiwan dollar appreciated 0.5 percent and Singapore’s dollar gained 0.3 percent, Bloomberg data show.
The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index, a gauge of the greenback’s strength, declined 0.9 percent in a fifth weekly retreat. China’s yuan strengthened 0.05 percent, advancing for the first week in three.
The central bank will lower its one-year lending rate by a quarter of a percentage point to 4.85 percent before end-2015, while major banks’ reserve-requirement ratios will be reduced by one percentage point to 17.5 percent, according to a Bloomberg survey conducted May 10-12.
Crude Rebounds
Brent crude rose 1.9 percent this week, brightening prospects for Malaysia, the only net oil exporter among Asia’s major economies.
The economy expanded 5.6 percent in the three months through March from a year earlier, after climbing a revised 5.7 percent in the final quarter of 2014, official data showed on Friday.
Taiwan’s dollar gained this week as global funds boosted their holdings of the island’s stocks by $339 million over the last four days, exchange data show.
“Expectations for a U.S. rate increase are receding,” said Woods Chen, an economist at Ta Chong Bank Ltd. in Taipei. Taiwanese businesses are also remitting funds back from China, where interest rates are falling quickly, he said.
Elsewhere in Asia, the Philippine peso rose 0.3 percent this week, Indonesia’s rupiah advanced 0.2 percent, as did South Korea’s won. The Thai baht was little changed, while Vietnam’s dong fell 1 percent.
bloomberg.com
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