*
China's yuan hits 3-week high on strong exports, trade fair
*
Polish zloty dips after inflation eases
*
China willing to implement debt disposal framework -
c.bank
governor
*
Emerging market FX up 0.2%, stocks add 0.4%
By Shashwat Chauhan April 14 (Reuters) - Emerging market currencies rose on Friday and were set for their best weekly performance in three months, helped by pressure on the dollar from speculation the Federal Reserve is nearing the end of its monetary policy tightening cycle.
The MSCI's emerging market currencies index was up 0.2% at 0853 GMT, and was headed for its best weekly performance since January. The dollar index was headed for its longest stretch of weekly losses in almost three years after cooling U.S. inflation data raised expectations the Fed may be close to ending its aggressive tightening cycle. The yuan hit its strongest level against the dollar in three weeks, bolstered by China's robust export performance in March and weakness in the greenback. The Polish zloty fell 0.4% against the euro after official data showed inflation easing to 16.1% for the year in March. The Czech crown shed 0.4% against the euro, though hovered near its highest level in nearly 15 years after data on Thursday showed headline inflation slowing to 15%, although staying high enough for the central bank to maintain its hawkish tone on interest rates. "Whether it's Poland or Hungary, anywhere basically other than Turkey, you do get a sense that you've seen the worst of things," said Tim Graf, head of macro strategy for EMEA at StateStreet. "A lot of the inflation you have seen in the last year is going to be down to energy prices, and we know those effects are fading." The Russian rouble strengthened against the dollar to 81.5 after two days of declines, helped by firm oil prices. South Africa's rand fell 0.3% against the dollar after gaining close to 2% in the previous session. World Bank President David Malpass on Thursday said progress on sovereign debt issues would be measured by actual restructuring deals being agreed for Ghana, Ethiopia and Zambia, and said there was still no agreement on his long-standing call for a standstill in debt service payments for countries seeking help. China's central bank governor Yi Gang said China was willing to implement a debt disposal framework with other countries. The MSCI EM stocks index rose 0.4% as China's CSI 300 index and Shanghai's Composite index both closed up 0.6%, lifted by technology and industrial shares. In Latin America, Peru's central bank kept its benchmark interest rate at 7.75% on Thursday for the third consecutive time, as the monetary authority in the Andean nation faces the highest inflation in a quarter century. Elsewhere, Singapore's dollar dipped 0.3% against the dollar after the country's central bank left its monetary policy settings unchanged. (Reporting by Shashwat Chauhan and Bansari Mayur Kamdar in Bengaluru Editing by Mark Potter)
