* Taiwan dollar and Malaysian ringgit strengthen
* There is still demand for carry trades - analyst
* S.Korea pledges emergency steps to minimise economic
impact
(Adds text, updates prices)
By Shriya Ramakrishnan
Feb 14 (Reuters) - Most emerging Asian currencies weakened
against the U.S. dollar on Friday, but were on course for weekly
gains, supported by prospects of stimulus measures by
policymakers to shield their economies from the impact of the
coronavirus outbreak.
The outbreak in China showed no signs of peaking with health
authorities on Friday reporting more than 5,000 new coronavirus
cases and 121 new deaths. Economists are scaling back growth expectations for the
Chinese economy in the current quarter, though they say the
downturn will be short-lived if the outbreak is contained.
"We need concrete evidence that economic data is not going
to be worser than what we think it is. The Asian currency
landscape is however not bad, because we have the People's Bank
of China (PBOC) guiding or trying to keep the yuan trading below
7 and there is still demand for carry trades," Stephen Innes,
chief market strategist at AxiCorp said.
The onshore Chinese yuan CNY=CFXS weakened against a
slightly stronger dollar.
The South Korean won KRW=KFTC pared early losses to trade
a tick lower, finding some support as the country's two economic
policy chiefs pledged to deploy emergency measures to minimise
the economic impact from the coronavirus outbreak. South Korea's central bank chief also said on Friday that
the bank must take a cautious approach to any further rate cuts.
The Singapore dollar SGD= and Thai baht THB=TH eased
slightly during the day, while the Malaysian ringgit MYR=
strengthened.
Currencies of tourist hubs such as Singapore, Thailand and
Malaysia have relatively been more affected by the virus
outbreak as it threatens a slowdown in Chinese trade and
visitors from China.
Thailand's tourism ministry on Thursday said the number of
foreign tourists in the country slumped nearly 40% between Feb.
1 and 7. Meanwhile, central banks of Malaysia and Thailand have cut
their policy rates by 25 basis points this year.
While the Philippine peso PHP= , Indonesian rupiah IDR= ,
and Indian rupee INR= weakened between 0.1% and 0.2% during
the session, analysts say the high yields offered by these
currencies have helped them weather the virus storm stronger
than their peers.
"The high yielders are a little bit more immune to the carry
and to the virus scare because central banks are easing and we
are getting bond inflows," Innes added.
FOREIGN INFLOWS SUPPORT TAIWAN DOLLAR
The Taiwan dollar TWD=TP strengthened as much as 0.2%
against the greenback, lifted by a large amount of foreign
exchange inflows and provisions taken to assuage the impact on
the island's economy.
Taiwan's cabinet on Thursday proposed a special budget of $2
billion as the virus outbreak threatens to hit its economy,
which is a key part of the global electronics supply chain.
Foreign investors have purchased $273.8 million worth of
Taiwanese stocks in the past two days, according to Refinitiv
data.
CURRENCIES VS U.S. DOLLAR
Change on the day at 0624 GMT
Currency Latest bid Previous day Pct Move
Japan yen 109.760 109.81 +0.05
Sing dlr 1.390 1.3891 -0.05
Taiwan dlr 30.007 30.037 +0.10
Korean won 1183.700 1182.8 -0.08
Baht 31.170 31.14 -0.10
Peso 50.510 50.46 -0.10
Rupiah 13700.000 13675 -0.18
Rupee 71.403 71.29 -0.16
Ringgit 4.139 4.141 +0.05
Yuan 6.986 6.9775 -0.13
Change so far in 2020
Currency Latest bid End 2019 Pct Move
Japan yen 109.760 108.61 -1.05
Sing dlr 1.390 1.3444 -3.27
Taiwan dlr 30.007 30.106 +0.33
Korean won 1183.700 1156.40 -2.31
Baht 31.170 29.91 -4.04
Peso 50.510 50.65 +0.28
Rupiah 13700.000 13880 +1.31
Rupee 71.403 71.38 -0.03
Ringgit 4.139 4.0890 -1.21
Yuan 6.986 6.9632 -0.33