Regional Risk Proxies In Retreat

More Asia markets re-opened after Lunar New Year holidays, albeit China, Hong Kong and Taiwan remained shut. Market sentiment was undermined by weakness in U.S. tech equities, which took its toll on the yuan and the main risk proxies from the Asia EM basket.

• CNH: Spot USD/CNH ground higher as the greenback caught a bid amid weakness in U.S. tech equity space.
• KRW: The won went offered as risk-off flows kicked in. Spot USD/KRW erased initial losses, despite starting on the back foot as onshore markets re-opened after a holiday. The BoK & Finance Ministry delivered their usual post-holiday comments re: monitoring market volatility.
• IDR: Risk aversion took its toll on another regional risk proxy IDR. The rupiah came under additional pressure from the continued spread of Covid-19 infections in Indonesia, confirmed by the spokesman of a national Covid-19 Task Force.
• MYR: The ringgit advanced even as expansion in Malaysia's manufacturing sector slower, as per the latest reading of Markit PMI. Still, it may have provided some reassurance that the sector dodged contraction, despite the outbreak of Omicron.
• PHP: The Philippine peso rose to its strongest levels in almost a month, with participants awaiting the release of local CPI data tomorrow. The news that lawmakers passed a bill allowing full foreign ownership of telecoms & railway services may have supported the currency, raising hopes for a boost to FDI in the Philippines.
• THB: Thailand also reports CPI data tomorrow. Spot USD/THB slipped to its lowest point in a week.