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USD Strength Continues, Some USD/Asia Pairs At Or Near YTD Highs

ASIA FX

USD/Asia pairs are higher across the board, albeit with some outperformance from a couple of currencies. Weaker G10 currencies against the USD, coupled with a mixed regional equity market sentiment, have lent the USD support. USD/CNY spot is back close to Friday highs in what still looks like a catch up trade to broader USD gains. Tomorrow's data calendar is fairly quiet, with Singapore money supply, Thailand manufacturing activity and India fiscal figures for Feb due.

  • USD/CNY spot pushed higher from the open, but has been unable to breach the 7.2300 level, which is also where we topped out on Friday. USD/CNH is also higher, but has remained under the 7.2600 handle. Onshore equities are weaker amid earnings concerns. China President Xi Jinping has met with several US executives but it remains to be seen what comes of the meeting. China Feb industrial profits improved on the Jan outcome (to +10% ytd y/y) but didn't impact sentiment.
  • 1 month USD/KRW has made fresh highs back to Jan. The pair getting close to 1346. Broader USD sentiment is weighing on the won, while we haven't seen any fresh pushback from the authorities around weaker FX levels yet. Onshore equity gains have slowed, but the won hasn't benefited from recent upside, so this may not be an important driver in the near term. Korea manufacturing sentiment eased in April but the export outlook still improved.
  • Spot and 1 month USD/TWD has probed above 32.00, around recent highs, but we haven't seen any follow through yet. Comments from CBC Governor Yang don't suggest a follow up hike is likely. The Governor stating inflation between 0-2% is acceptable, while recent TWD weakness has been USD driven. The TWD NEER is off lower in recent months but remains comfortably above 2023 lows.
  • Spot USD/IDR is at 15850, fresh highs for the year. Foreign Investors sold bonds at the highest rate since May 2023 on Monday, with an outflow of $335m. The 5-day average is now -$86m, the 20-day average is -$57m while the longer term 200-day average is -$3.10m. Indonesia's losing presidential candidate has urged the court to disqualify the president-elect, as well. Like elsewhere, the market is likely to be wary of BI intervention risks.
  • Spot USD/PHP is slightly lower, last under 56.30. There appears to be some resistance around the 56.30/40 region in pair, which has marked recent highs. There has been little in the way of market headlines or economic data today.

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