Inside Day For Most USD/Asia Crosses

The greenback started the Asia session on the back foot but recovered heading into the press conference from US President Elect Biden as he outlined the latest stimulus package and said he would plan another once in office.

• Spot USD/KRW is flat, last changing hands at 1098.20. The BoK kept rates on hold at 0.50% as expected. BoK Gov. Lee said the decision was unanimous and the bank would keep easing stance until stable recovery expected, and noted the bank was cognizant of risks to financial stability.
• USD/IDR re-opened lower today, before trimming losses slightly, and last sits -27 pips at IDR14,030. There was limited reaction to relatively strong exports data so far, with the figure rising 14.63% Y/Y vs. exp. of a deceleration in growth to +6.20% from +9.54%.
• Spot USD/THB trade at THB29.98, just 1 pip shy of neutral levels, as it continues to waver within a narrowing range around the THB30.00 figure. Little in the way of local catalysts to inspire larger price swings.
• Spot USD/PHP remains trapped within a tight range just above PHP48.00, last sitting -2 pips at PHP48.04. Health officials said that the Philippines will tighten Covid restrictions including stricter border controls after a new, more infections variant of coronavirus was detected in the country.
• USD/MYR resumed losses as onshore ringgit trade re-opened today. The pair has shed 13 pips last sits at MYR4.0340. Continued sell-off has allowed the rate to swing into a loss on a weekly basis. Political tensions flare in the country as the decision to declare an emergency over the pandemic draws criticism.
• USD/TWD has ground higher through the session on Friday, the move supported by some resilience in the US dollar. The move higher has spiked volatility in TWD which had fallen amid conjecture that the central bank was attempting to guide the currency. USD/TWD last at 27.981.
• USD/SGD has gradually ground higher through the session. Not much to report domestically, price action dictated by the greenback. The pair last up 2 pips at 1.3257
• The PBOC fixed USD/CNY at 6.4633, around 113pips lower than yesterday as greenback weakness translated into redback strength – the fix was broadly in-line with sell side estimates. USD/CNH saw rangebound trade, last up 25 pips at 6.4668, dragged higher by USD.