Most emerging Asian currencies weakened on Friday, with the Indonesian rupiah and the South Korean won falling the most as the US dollar stayed firm, while Singapore stocks rose on the country’s plans to ease some COVID-19 border curbs.
The greenback was little changed from a nine-month high touched in the previous session on fears that the Delta coronavirus variant could delay global economic recovery and prospects of an early stimulus tapering by the Federal Reserve.
“For now, we see this as near-term narrative. Central banks are not u-turning on their tightening trajectory just yet,” OCBC analysts wrote in a note.
The South Korean won fell to an 11-month low, after having weakened in eight of the last nine sessions.
“The authorities have put this down to short-term demand supply imbalances, potentially necessitating BoK (Bank of Korea) intervention to smooth excess volatility,” Mizuho Bank analysts wrote in a note.
The Indonesian rupiah fell 0.4 percent as data showed the country’s current account deficit widened in the second quarter to 0.8 percent of its gross domestic product.
