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Philippine central bank likely to raise rate by 50 bps - poll
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Malaysia ringgit snaps three-day losing streak
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U.S. CPI data due later in the day
By Tejaswi Marthi Feb 14 (Reuters) - Most emerging Asian currencies and stocks climbed on Tuesday as the dollar remain subdued ahead of a U.S. inflation report due later in the day when investors will look for further clues on the Federal Reserve's policy outlook.
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics will release January's consumer price index (CPI) data, which is expected to show how effective Federal Reserve policy tightening has been in taming inflation. Analysts expect the headline consumer price index (CPI) to rise 0.5% in January, with the core number seen advancing 0.4%, compared with 0.3% the previous month, according to a Reuters poll. "Anything too far away from the consensus numbers could lead to some volatility in markets by adding further uncertainty over the path the U.S. Fed takes in the months ahead," ING analysts wrote.
The Malaysian ringgit climbed 0.4%, marking its best day since Feb 2, and both the Indonesian rupiah and the Indian rupee advanced 0.2% each. The Philippine peso gained 0.1%.
Central banks around the world have decided to slowdown the aggressive pace of rate rises as multiple sets of data point to cooling inflation. However, the expected uptick in the upcoming U.S. CPI data has cemented bets that the Fed will keep monetary policy tight for longer. "Economic momentum at the end of last year and in early 2023 has been stronger than anticipated. We now expect the Federal Open Market Committee will extend tightening through the second quarter of 2023 and anticipate 25 basis points (bps) rate increases at the May and June FOMC meetings," analysts at ANZ noted.
The Philippine central bank will deliver a second straight half-point rate rise on Thursday, according to a slim majority of economists in a Reuters poll, as it grapples with inflation at a 14-year high and showing no meaningful sign of cooling. Bank Indonesia (BI), which will also meet on Thursday, is expected to leave its interest rate unchanged at 5.75%, a Reuters poll showed, as inflation in Southeast Asia's largest economy slowed between September last year and January.
Stocks in the region also took a breather after tracking a bounce on Wall Street.
Equities in Malaysia climbed 0.5%, followed by a 0.4% rise in both Indonesia and India <.NSEI > stocks.
HIGHLIGHTS:
** Thailand's economy could grow faster than forecast this
year as a revival in tourism quickens, while the pace of
monetary tightening to stave off inflation remained
"reasonable", the finance minister said on Monday
** India's retail inflation breaches RBI's tolerance level
first time since October Asia stock indexes and currencies at 0403 GMT
COUNTRY FX RIC FX FX INDE STOCKS STOCKS
DAILY % YTD % X DAILY YTD %
%
Japan +0.29 -0.69 <.N2 0.55 5.69
25>
China <CNY=CFXS +0.05 +1.24 <.SS -0.03 6.28
> EC>
India +0.16 +0.16 <.NS 0.32 -1.53
EI>
Indonesi +0.16 +2.64 <.JK 0.36 1.08
a SE>
Malaysia +0.35 +1.27 <.KL 0.54 -0.83
SE>
Philippi +0.05 +1.62 <.PS -0.39 3.75
nes I>
S.Korea <KRW=KFTC +0.69 -0.32 <.KS 0.84 10.59
> 11>
Singapor +0.08 +0.95 <.ST -0.22 2.03
e I>
Taiwan +0.13 +1.68 <.TW 0.79 10.82
II>
Thailand -0.06 +2.29 <.SE -0.18 -0.41
TI>
(Editing by Robert Birsel)
