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Quiet Start To The Week

ASIA FX

USD/Asia pairs have been mixed to start the week. USD/CNH is off earlier highs to the low 6.6900 region. KRW and TWD have been rangebound, despite weaker local equities. SGD NEER has lost some ground over the past week, while dips in USD/INR and USD/IDR were supported.

  • CNH: USD/CNH pressed higher in early trade, but found selling interest above 6.7050. Weekend developments around another property sector default and rising onshore covid cases weighed, but China equities recovered from an early dip and are back in positive territory. China will also start a swap connect program with Hong Kong in 6 months. This is expected to increase the appeal of investing in CGBs, particularly from a hedging standpoint. USD/CNH is back at the low 6.6900 region, below the 50-day, which comes in at 6.7013.
  • KRW: USD/KRW has been range bound. Equities have failed to gain any topside. The Kospi is off by another 1.10%. Spot USD/KRW has been stuck in a 1296-1300 range. Note important June CPI figures print tomorrow.
  • INR: USD/INR spot opened sub 79.00, but this dip was supported. We are back to 79.04 now. Onshore equities are a little weaker. Sell-side analysts remain bearish on the rupee given the twin deficits and further run down in FX reserves.
  • IDR: Spot USD/IDR opened below 14940 but quickly found support. The pair is back above 14960, close to highs from last Friday. Onshore equities were off by more than 3% at on stage, but we are now back to -2.5%. Portfolio outflows from both equities and bonds is weighing on the IDR, with little respite for the currency despite lower core G3 yields.
  • PHP: USD/PHP spot spiked to 55.20 in early trade, but we are back closer to 55.03 now. Chief Economic Planner Arsenio Balisacan stated that growth of 7-8% would be hard to meet this year. A little above 6% was more likely. Note June CPI figures print tomorrow, with the market expecting a 6% YoY handle from 5.4% previously.
  • SGD: The SGD NEER lost 0.25% last week, according to Goldman Sachs estimates. It has lost a little further ground today, with spot USD/SGD edging higher to 1.3975. Coming up later is the electronics sector PMI (last 50.5), and the broader PMI (50.4 expected versus 50.4 previously) both for June.

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