Asian currencies gained this week, led by the Thai baht and Malaysia’s ringgit, as regional growth that’s forecast to surpass developed markets and relatively high yields attract investors.
The baht appreciated the most for a week since March after the central bank signaled currency gains that are in line with the regional trend can be tolerated. The ringgit reached a 13-year high after Malaysia reported its economy expanded faster than economists predicted in the second quarter and the monetary authority eased currency curbs.
“Asia’s economy is stronger than other regions and there’s the outlook for interest-rate hikes in some countries,” said Tetsuo Yoshikoshi, a senior economist at Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp in Singapore. “So investors are pouring money into the region selectively.”
The baht rose 1.2 percent this week to 31.51 per US dollar in Bangkok, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The ringgit advanced 1 percent to 3.1395 and the Philippine peso gained 0.6 percent to 45.025.
Developing economies in Asia will expand 9.2 percent this year, outpacing growth of 2.6 percent in advanced countries, the IMF said on July 7.
The New Taiwan dollar climbed 0.1 percent to NT$31.935 this week.
Elsewhere, the Singapore dollar gained 0.7 percent this week to S$1.3539 against its US counterpart and the Indonesian rupiah rose 0.1 percent to 8,973. South Korea’s won was little changed at 1,183.13 from 1,183.70 a week earlier.
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