South Korean Won Slips Amid Rangebound Trade In Emerging Asia

South Korean won paced losses while most USD/Asia crosses held tight ranges ahead of the release of U.S. CPI figures, a key input to the debate on Fed tightening outlook.

• USD/CNH showed some weakness in early dealing before staging a rebound. The PBOC set the mid-point of permitted USD/CNY trading band below Bloomberg consensus for the 31st consecutive day, with the fixing error narrowing to -468 pips. The actual reference rate was little changed from the previous day, as officials fixed it in the vicinity of CNY7.1 for the seventh session in a row.
• KRW was the worst performer in emerging Asia after a strong Wednesday's session. Geopolitical concerns weighed on the won as North Korea said its nuclear units test-launched two long-range cruise missiles in a drill overseen by Kim Jong-un. Both KOSPI and KOSDAQ sank on a negative lead from European/U.S. equity markets.
  
• Spot USD/IDR steadied, with participants looking for fresh catalysts. Palm oil futures were marginally firmer, while the aggregate BBG Commodity Index oscillated around neutral levels.
• Spot USD/MYR refreshed 24-year highs, despite the release of above-forecast industrial output data on Wednesday.
• Spot USD/PHP traded in the vicinity of the PHP59 record high despite yesterday's comments from BSP Gov Medalla, who said that the peso's depreciation is accentuating inflationary pressures and "strengthens the case to act and to act decisively."