CNH & KRW Lose Ground Amid Equity Weakness, THB Outperforms

Some USD/Asia pairs have gravitated higher amid weaker equity leads, most notably USD/CNH and USD/KRW. There have been pockets of strength elsewhere though. The THB has been a strong outperformer, with the gold price bounce a likely positive for the baht. Tomorrow, we get South Korean consumer confidence early. Later on, Taiwan Q3 GDP prints.

• Spot USD/CNH sits near 7.1600 in recent dealings. We got to 7.1645 earlier, comfortably above Friday session highs. The USD/CNY fix was set slightly higher, ending the recent run of down moves in the fixing. Local equity sentiment has also been quite negative, with property stocks and financials underperforming. Headlines have crossed from Rtrs that the Beijing Stock Exchange has suspended major shareholders from reducing shares in listed companies, which has helped take markets away from their repsective lows post the break. Industrial profits were positive for October in y/y terms, but sit comfortably off August highs.
• 1 month USD/KRW has gravitated higher today. The pair last above 1304, around 0.20% weaker in KRW terms. Earlier highs were close to Friday highs, above 1306. Equity sentiment has deteriorated as the session progressed, which has weighed on the won.
• Spot USD/HKD continues to trend lower. The pair was last near 7.7875, against earlier lows of 7.7861. We opened at 7.7928. Even as CNH has stabilized somewhat, HKD continues to enjoy yield support as Hibor rates climb further. The 1 month his a fresh 16yr year high today at 5.534%, (+15.5bps). The 3 month fixed at 5.71%, +6.6bps. The US-HK 3 month yield continues to track lower, last at -32bps, fresh lows back to Jan of this year. Seasonality in terms of cash demand and a low start starting point for the aggregate balance, are being cited as factors driving firmer yields.
• Local markets are closed in India today for the observance of a national holiday and will reopen tomorrow. On Friday USD/INR was marginally firmer closing at 83.3775, the pair has ticked away from the 20-Day EMA (83.2872) in recent trading . Broader USD trends dominated flows and the Rupee has not yet seen support from falling Oil prices. Q3 GDP on Thursday provides the highlight this week a print of 6.9% Y/Y is expected, the prior read was 8.0%. Also due on Thursday is the October Fiscal Deficit. On Friday we have November S&P Global Mfg PMI.
• The SGD NEER (per Goldman Sachs estimates) is little changed this morning, we remain a touch off recent cycle highs. The measure sits ~0.3% below the top of the band. USD/SGD sits in a narrow range as the pair continues to see-saw around the $1.34 handle, the pair sits a touch off the base of the recent $1.3390/1.3420 range as broader USD trends continue to dominate. The docket is light this week with just October Money Supply due on Thursday..
• The Ringgit has been marginally pressured in early dealing, however USD/MYR remains well within recent ranges as broader USD trends dominate flows. The pair prints at 4.6795/4.6845, ~0.1% above Friday's closing levels. November S&P Global Mfg PMI on Friday is the only data of note this week, there is no estimate and the prior read was 46.8.
• USD/THB is a touch above session lows. Last near 35.25, against an earlier lows just under 35.24. We are still near 0.70% stronger in baht terms for the session, as we see somewhat of a catch up to recent USD weakness, plus the break higher in gold prices today. This has offset customs data, which showed a slip back into trade deficit (a surplus had been projected).