* Bank Indonesia rate decision due on Thursday
* PBOC sets yuan mid-point at its weakest since Dec. 25
* Indonesian rupiah hits weakest level in over a week
(Adds text, updates prices)
By Shreya Mariam Job
Feb 19 (Reuters) - Most Asian currencies fell against a
stronger dollar on Wednesday, with the Indonesian rupiah
declining the most, after China's central bank set the midpoint
of the yuan weaker than a key threshold for the first time in
nearly two months.
The People's Bank of China set the midpoint rate CNY=PBOC
at 7.0012 per dollar, 186 pips or 0.27% weaker than the previous
fix of 6.9826. The Chinese yuan CNY=CFXS slipped 0.1%.
"The weakness in Asian currencies probably stem from the
weaker yuan fixing today, which was fixed weaker than 7, which
suggest that Chinese authorities are comfortable with further
weakening in the currency," said Khoon Goh, head of Asia
research at ANZ.
Worries of the economic impact of the coronavirus outbreaks
continued to dampen investor sentiment as the death toll from
the epidemic passed 2,000 in the mainland, although a fall in
the number of new cases offered a slight reprieve. Meanwhile, Asian units also faced pressure from a stronger
greenback, as the dollar =USD , against a basket of currencies,
hovered near a four-month high.
"With the euro, the biggest component in the dollar index,
offering little resistance, coupled with the risk-aversion
stemming from the coronavirus outbreak, the U.S. dollar has
scant reason to come off these elevated levels," said Han Tan, a
market analyst at FXTM, in a note.
The Taiwan dollar
Against the broader trend, the Philippine peso PHP=
continued to trade fairly stronger as the impact of the virus
outbreak on its economy is expected to be relatively less
severe.
The Thai baht THB=TH saw marginal gains after comments on
Tuesday that the Thai government's support measures and the
passage of a delayed budget bill will help ease the economic
blow from the coronavirus. RUPIAH
The Indonesian rupiah IDR=ID declined 0.4% to its weakest
level in over a week.
"Rupiah has been performing quite strongly recently," Goh
said, so the weakness today is not surprising.
The rupiah had strengthened about 1.7% over the month of
January allowing investors to book profits.
The Bank Indonesia is likely to resume its easing cycle at
its policy meeting on Thursday, according to a Reuters poll, to
provide a cushion for the expected economic impact from the
virus outbreak. VS U.S. DOLLAR
Change on the day at 0551 GMT
Currency Latest bid Previous day Pct Move
Japan yen 110.050 109.86 -0.17
Sing dlr 1.391 1.3924 +0.09
Taiwan dlr 30.142 30.125 -0.06
Korean won 1191.000 1189.5 -0.13
Baht 31.170 31.2 +0.10
Peso 50.560 50.63 +0.14
Rupiah 13710.000 13660 -0.36
Ringgit 4.158 4.154 -0.10
Yuan 7.007 6.9980 -0.12
Change so far in 2020
Currency Latest bid End 2019 Pct Move
Japan yen 110.050 108.61 -1.31
Sing dlr 1.391 1.3444 -3.36
Taiwan dlr 30.142 30.106 -0.12
Korean won 1191.000 1156.40 -2.91
Baht 31.170 29.91 -4.04
Peso 50.560 50.65 +0.18
Rupiah 13710.000 13880 +1.24
Rupee 71.520 71.38 -0.20
Ringgit 4.158 4.0890 -1.66
Yuan 7.007 6.9632 -0.62