* S Korean won gains most in over 9 months
* Chinese yuan sees best in nearly 8 weeks
* Tariff news offset raft of weak China July data
(Adds text, updates prices)
By Aby Jose Koilparambil
Aug 14 (Reuters) - Most Asian currencies strengthened on
Wednesday after the United States delayed some additional
tariffs on imports from China in a modest easing of trade
tensions between the world's top two economies.
The year-long tariff war between Washington and Beijing has
roiled financial markets and put pressure on many economies,
including several in Asia, that count China as their major trade
partner.
Overnight, U.S. President Donald Trump backed off from his
Sept. 1 deadline for 10% tariffs on the remaining Chinese
imports, delaying duties on cellphones, laptops and other
consumer goods in the hopes of blunting their impact on U.S.
holiday sales. "Trade war risk has a very high weight in investors'
reaction function as it is perceived that the Fed would have to
deliver “insurance cuts” to cushion the economy," DBS Group
Research analysts said in a note.
The tariff news largely offset a raft of disappointing China
data for July, and lifted its yuan currency, although
uncertainty around unrest in Hong Kong and global growth worries
are likely to keep financial markets under pressure in the near
term.
The broader economic concerns were underscored by the slew
of weak China data, including a surprise drop in July industrial
output growth to a more than 17-year low, a fall in monthly
crude steel output and slow retail sales . The Trump decision managed to lift the Chinese yuan
CNY=CFXS by 0.6%, its best intraday percentage gain in nearly
eight weeks.
The yuan fell 1.7% against the greenback last week as
Beijing let it fall past the key 7 per dollar level for the
first time since the global financial crisis. The decline
followed Washington's earlier threat to slap a 10% tariff on
$300 billion of Chinese goods.
The South Korean won KRW=KFTC led the gains, rallying as
much as 1.3% for its biggest intraday percentage jump in over
nine months, especially as the news of the delay in duties for
electronic items was seen as a relief for an economy heavily
reliant on tech-related exports.
The won, the worst performing regional currency so far this
year, has declined about 2.5% this month.
The Taiwan dollar TWD=TP put on 0.9%, while the Indian
rupee INR=IN and the Indonesian rupiah IDR=ID advanced 0.8%
and 0.7%, respectively.
The Malaysian ringgit MYR=MY tacked on as much as 0.3%,
while the Thai baht TBH=TH gained 0.2%.
The Philippine peso PHP= bucked the trend, down 0.5% as it
retreated from the 0.3% gain in the previous session.
CURRENCIES VS U.S. DOLLAR
Change on the day at 0536 GMT
Currency Latest bid Previous day Pct Move
Japan yen 106.480 106.73 +0.23
Sing dlr 1.385 1.3831 -0.14
Taiwan dlr 31.297 31.506 +0.67
Korean won 1212.900 1222.2 +0.77
Baht 30.810 30.86 +0.16
Peso 52.200 52.01 -0.36
Rupiah 14229.000 14315 +0.60
Rupee 71.028 71.40 +0.52
Ringgit 4.183 4.196 +0.31
Yuan 7.020 7.0558 +0.51
Change so far in 2019
Currency Latest bid End 2018 Pct Move
Japan yen 106.480 109.56 +2.89
Sing dlr 1.385 1.3627 -1.61
Taiwan dlr 31.297 30.733 -1.80
Korean won 1212.900 1115.70 -8.01
Baht 30.810 32.55 +5.65
Peso 52.200 52.47 +0.52
Rupiah 14229.000 14375 +1.03
Rupee 71.028 69.77 -1.77
Ringgit 4.183 4.1300 -1.27
Yuan 7.020 6.8730 -2.10