USD/Asia Pairs Move Lower, BI Decision Still To Come

USD/Asia pairs have mostly moved lower as today's session has progressed. A weaker USD tone against the majors has helped, while equity sentiment has been mixed within the region. Still to come is the BI decision, with no change expected. Taiwan IP also prints later. Tomorrow, we have Malaysian CPI and Singapore IP on tap.

• USD/CNH is close to session lows, last near 7.1475. This is 0.20% stronger in CNH terms but still comfortably above Wednesday lows near 7.1320. The USD/CNY fixing dipped further despite USD stability, although the initial reaction in CNH was muted. Property related stocks are much firmer, although overall equity trends are only marginally positive. Broader USD weakness, (BBDXY off 0.20%) has not doubt helped the yuan today.
• USD/IDR is a touch firmer as we head towards the BI decision later. The pair last just under 15590. An earlier move above 15615 drew selling interest, while on the downside we haven't been sub 15585 so far today. These moves follow yesterday's sharp IDR sell off (down nearly 0.90% in spot terms), which BI stated related to temporary corporate USD demand. The BI is expected to remain on hold later. As we noted in our preview, while the central bank has a number of existing and new instruments to ensure FX stability, given recent currency depreciation it is unlikely to want to risk destabilising the IDR by easing monetary policy ahead of the Fed.
• The Rupee is little changed from opening levels, ranges have been narrow today and the drop in Oil prices has not yet weighed on USD/INR. Oil prices as Asian participants digested Wednesday's news of a delayed OPEC meeting, WTI is down ~1%. USD/INR prints at 83.3300/75.
• Ringgit is marginally pressured in early trade on Thursday as Thursday's uptick in US Tsy Yields weighs in early dealing. USD/MYR is ~0.2% firmer this morning, last printing at 4.6830/80. The local docket is empty today, tomorrow October CPI is due and is expected to print at 1.9% Y/Y.
• The SGD NEER (per Goldman Sachs estimates) is little changed this morning, we remain a touch off recent cycle highs. The measure sits ~0.3% below the top of the band. USD/SGD firmed above the $1.34 handle yesterday trimmed some of the losses since in November thus far. USD/SGD deals at $1.3405/10 a touch below opening levels. CPI in October was firmer than expectations, headline CPI printed at 4.7% Y/Y (exp 4.5%) and Core CPI printed at 3.3% Y/Y (exp 3.1).
• USD/PHP sits just below 55.45 in recent dealings, a touch lower for the session (we closed yesterday at 55.48). Earlier session highs were at 55.54. Recent lows from Tuesday rest in the 55.30/35 region. The pair is comfortably sub all key EMAs. PHP has been mid-range for the past week in terms of relative EM Asia FX performance, trailing CNH & CNY but outperforming KRW and IDR. Offshore developments/broader USD trends are likely to be key for PHP. USD/PHP finding a near term trough has coincided with stability in broader dollar trends.
• USD/THB sits near 35.24 in recent dealings, not far from session highs for the week. This puts the baht around 0.10% weaker since yesterday's close. Recent lows rest close to the 35.00 figure level. October tourism arrivals were 2.2million. A slight uptick on the September number but still down on July highs around 2.5 million. The authorities will be hoping for firmer momentum through NOv/Dec, which is typically stronger from a seasonal standpoint. Earlier the BoT Governor spoke and stated that the economy needs fiscal and monetary space, while PM Srettha stressed the need for cash handouts to boost the economy.