Oil importers marked lower -The....>

EMERGING MARKETS: Oil importers marked lower

-The move in oil markets and risk sentiment today has filtered well beyond G10

early Friday, with currencies of large oil importing nations bearing the brunt

of the losses. Both the INR and KRW are underperforming broader EM currencies,

with KRW snapping an impressive rally staged since the Phase One US-China trade

deal was secured. USD/KRW now sits just below the 50-dma resistance at 1171.33

and a break above here would expose the mid-December downgap at 1186.90.

-ZAR is also trading poorly as risk sentiment takes a turn for the worse, with

ZAR mimicking the moves in global equity markets, although South African

equities themselves are holding up relatively well thanks to miners and precious

metals firms gaining the tailwind of firmer spot gold prices. Despite the move

higher in USD/ZAR, the DMAs have just formed a death cross formation (50-dma <

200-dma), which could signal further pressure on USD/ZAR is to come.

-Singapore PMI figures are the only numbers of note for the Friday session.