From Bloomberg, August 18/19:
- Ringgit gains on global inflows into stocks, growth view
- Baht rises as new PM appointment calms political uncertainties
Asian currencies rallied to the highest in seven months as ebbing US recession concern, bets on Federal Reserve rate cuts next month and an improving domestic backdrop lifted sentiment in the region.
The Bloomberg Asia Dollar Index gained as much as 0.6% on Monday to the highest since January. The South Korean won and the Malaysian ringgit led the regional advance on upbeat growth prospects and the Thai baht rose on easing political tensions.
“It feels like a Goldilocks scenario, where US recession fears fade while growth momentum in the region remains moderate,” said Christopher Wong, a foreign-exchange strategist at Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp. “There is room for Asia ex-Japan currencies to recover against a backdrop of developed-market central banks largely on an easing bias.”
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