* Chinese yuan firms, stands under key 7 per dollar level
* Bank Indonesia to stay in markets to keep rupiah stable
* Thai cenbank set to hold rates at Wednesday meet - poll
(Adds text, updates prices)
By Rashmi Ashok
Feb 4 (Reuters) - Most Asian currencies recovered slightly
and the yuan held steady on Tuesday, as China's efforts to allay
fears around the coronavirus outbreak lent some support to
jittery markets.
China's move to infuse liquidity into markets, trim some key
lending rates and place restrictions on short-selling helped the
local markets recover from Monday's steep losses. However, gains were capped as cautious investors took note
of the death toll, which jumped to 425 in China by Monday-end
even as Hong Kong reported its first death due to the virus.
The onshore yuan CNY=CFXS firmed 0.34% to 6.998 per
dollar, just below the symbolic 7 per dollar level it had
breached on Monday.
The central bank's official mid-point fix at 6.9779 per
dollar, while nearly 0.8% weaker than the previous fix, did not
stray above the 7.00 mark, offering some relief to Asian units,
Stephen Innes, chief market strategist at AxiCorp, wrote in a
note.
The South Korean won KRW=KFTC strengthened 0.7%, while the
Taiwan dollar TWD=TP added 0.4%.
The Thai baht THB=TH , the worst-hit currency from the
virus fears so far, gained 0.3% to trade at 30.930, firming past
the key 31 per dollar mark it had been trading above across the
last three sessions.
The Bank of Thailand will meet on Wednesday and it is widely
expected to keep the benchmark rate unchanged and save the
ammunition for later, as the coronavirus threatens key tourist
inflows from China. The Indonesian rupiah IDR=ID traded a touch firmer, after
a steep fall on Monday forced Bank Indonesia (BI) to step into
bond, currency and non-deliverable forwards (NDF) markets to
keep the currency stable.
On Tuesday too, a central bank official said the BI will
remain in the market to provide stability, adding that impact
from the coronavirus to the country's economy would be "small".
India, one of the world's largest importers of oil, saw its
currency INR=IN find some support, as worries over lower
demand hurt crude prices.
The following table shows rates for Asian currencies against
the dollar at 0525 GMT.
CURRENCIES VS U.S. DOLLAR
Currency Latest bid Previous day Pct Move
Japan yen 108.760 108.67 -0.08
Sing dlr 1.371 1.3687 -0.18
Taiwan dlr 30.220 30.332 +0.37
Korean won 1186.600 1195 +0.71
Baht 30.930 31.02 +0.29
Peso 50.780 50.86 +0.16
Rupiah 13725.000 13740 +0.11
Rupee 71.198 71.33 +0.18
Ringgit 4.113 4.115 +0.05
Yuan 6.998 7.0220 +0.34
Change so far in 2020
Currency Latest bid End 2019 Pct Move
Japan yen 108.760 108.61 -0.14
Sing dlr 1.371 1.3444 -1.95
Taiwan dlr 30.220 30.106 -0.38
Korean won 1186.600 1156.40 -2.55
Baht 30.930 29.91 -3.30
Peso 50.780 50.65 -0.26
Rupiah 13725.000 13880 +1.13
Rupee 71.198 71.38 +0.26
Ringgit 4.113 4.0890 -0.58
Yuan 6.998 6.9632 -0.50