*
Malaysian ringgit hits lowest since Jan 12
*
Indonesian rupiah hits lowest since Jan 13
*
All focus now on U.S. CPI data due on Tuesday
By Tejaswi Marthi Feb 13 (Reuters) - Currencies in emerging Asian markets extended their losses on Monday as the dollar rose ahead of a crucial U.S. consumer price report, with investors increasingly betting the Federal Reserve will continue to tighten its monetary policy.
The South Korean won lost 0.8% to lead the losses, followed by a 0.7% fall in the Malaysian ringgit and a 0.5% drop in the Indonesian rupiah . Both the Southeast Asian currencies hit their lowest levels in one month. Ahead of Tuesday's Consumer Price Index (CPI) report, revisions to the previous data set showed consumer prices rose in December instead of falling as previously estimated. That lifted core inflation on a three-month annualised basis to 4.3%, from 3.1%. "Persistence in pricing pressures remains the key risk for higher-for-longer rates, with any higher-than-expected read for the U.S. CPI likely to lead markets to revisit the possibility of an additional 25 basis-point rate hike in June," said Yeap Jun Rong, market analyst at IG.
Markets have already sharply raised the likelihood of
future tightening by the Federal Reserve, with rates now seen
peaking up around 5.15% and cuts coming later and slower. Singapore's economy grew slightly less than initially
estimated in the fourth quarter from a year ago. Gross domestic
product (GDP) grew 2.1% year-on-year in the fourth quarter, the
Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) said, slightly lower than
the 2.2% growth in the government's advance estimate.
"The services sector will continue to do the heavy-lifting
from here, while manufacturing and trade sectors may
underperform in the near term. Hence, a choppy growth trajectory
is still likely in the first half of 2023," said Selena Ling,
head of research and strategy at OCBC.
Most stocks in the region also extended declines as investors hunkered down for the U.S. inflation data that could send jitters across interest rates globally, while accelerating or reversing the recent spike in bond yields.
Equities in South Korea fell 0.9% while Singapore stocks fell 0.8%. Stocks in Indonesia and Malaysia fell 0.3% each.
HIGHLIGHTS:
** Indonesian 10-year benchmark yields fall 8.3 basis points
to 6.727%
** China's yuan sank to its weakest in five weeks during
early trading on Monday, as data from South Korea compounded
concerns about Asia's export growth and investors stayed
cautious ahead of key U.S. inflation data.
** Higher food prices likely nudged up India's annual retail
inflation last month from a 12-month low in December, but it
stayed within the Reserve Bank of India's targeted range for a
third consecutive month, a Reuters poll of economists predicted Asia stock indexes and currencies
at 0454 GMT
COUNTRY FX RIC FX FX INDE STOCKS STOCKS
DAILY % YTD % X DAILY YTD %
%
Japan -0.51 -0.74 <.N2 -1.02 4.96
25>
China <CNY=CFXS -0.23 +1.00 <.SS 0.53 6.11
> EC>
India -0.30 -0.03 <.NS -0.63 -2.00
EI>
Indonesi -0.53 +2.33 <.JK 0.34 0.78
a SE>
Malaysia -0.69 +0.94 <.KL -0.31 -1.70
SE>
Philippi -0.61 +1.59 <.PS -0.10 4.62
nes I>
S.Korea <KRW=KFTC -0.91 -0.96 <.KS -0.91 9.43
> 11>
Singapor -0.17 +0.56 <.ST -0.75 2.59
e I>
Taiwan -0.34 +1.55 <.TW -0.29 9.93
II>
Thailand -0.07 +2.25 <.SE 0.13 -0.11
TI>
(Reporting by Tejaswi Marthi in Bengaluru; Editing by
Muralikumar Anantharaman)
