* Analyst calls recovery "just an interim reprieve"
* S.Korean won leads gains, Indonesian rupiah weakens
(Adds text, updates prices)
By Shriya Ramakrishnan
Feb 25 (Reuters) - Most emerging Asian currencies firmed on
Tuesday, clawing back some of the prior session's heavy losses,
as growing U.S. rate-cut expectations took some steam out of the
dollar's recent run.
Financial markets have ratcheted up bets that the Federal
Reserve will be pressed to cut interest rates to cushion a
feared hit to economic growth from the coronavirus spread.
A spike in coronavirus cases beyond mainland China sparked
an exit from riskier assets on Monday and drove investors to the
perceived safety of gold and government bonds.
"The ability to regain some composure at softer levels is
perhaps just an interim reprieve," said Vishnu Varathan, head of
economics and strategy at Mizuho Bank.
"The slight tempering in demand for safe havens, which has
also softened the dollar at the margin, is also giving a
breathing space for Asian currencies, but it is too premature to
call for an emphatic and decisive bottoming."
The onshore Chinese yuan CNY=CFXS advanced as much as 0.3%
to 7.0087 per dollar.
The Malaysian ringgit MYR= traded slightly lower, a day
after Mahathir Mohamad unexpectedly quit as prime minister,
leaving the country in political turmoil.
Mahathir, however, agreed to a request by the Southeast
Asian nation's king to stay on as interim premier until a
successor is named. The Singapore dollar SGD= strengthened 0.2%, while the
Thai baht THB=TH inched lower.
The Indonesian rupiah IDR= weakened 0.2% and was the worst
performer, while the Indian rupee INR= was flat.
Market participants will now shift their focus to India's
economic growth data for the last quarter of 2019.
A Reuters poll shows growth in Asia's third-largest economy
likely accelerated a touch in the October-December period, after
its weakest expansion in more than six years in the previous
quarter. Philippine financial markets were closed for a holiday, but
the peso PHP= was up 0.2% in offshore trade.
S.KOREAN WON
The South Korean won KRW=KFTC gained as much as 0.9%
against the dollar, marking its best performance in more than
two weeks.
This comes after the country reported a slowdown in new
cases of coronavirus infections, and its finance minister on
Monday said he had advised the government to start the review
and execution of a supplementary budget to cushion the virus
impact. "Caution remains warranted as the Covid-19 development
remains fluid," said Christopher Wong, senior FX strategist at
Maybank Singapore.
The Bank of Korea is expected to lower its policy rate to a
record low on Thursday, the third cut in the current easing
cycle, a Reuters poll showed.
CURRENCIES VS U.S. DOLLAR
Change on the day at 0523 GMT
Currency Latest bid Previous day Pct Move
Japan yen 110.820 110.71 -0.10
Sing dlr 1.397 1.3994 +0.16
Taiwan dlr 30.383 30.472 +0.29
Korean won 1212.600 1220.2 +0.63
Baht 31.710 31.67 -0.13
Peso 50.950 51.05 +0.20
Rupiah 13895.000 13865 -0.22
Rupee 71.885 71.92 +0.05
Ringgit 4.223 4.218 -0.12
Yuan 7.015 7.0276 +0.19
Change so far in 2020
Currency Latest bid End 2019 Pct Move
Japan yen 110.820 108.61 -1.99
Sing dlr 1.397 1.3444 -3.77
Taiwan dlr 30.383 30.106 -0.91
Korean won 1212.600 1156.40 -4.63
Baht 31.710 29.91 -5.68
Peso 50.950 50.65 -0.59
Rupiah 13895.000 13880 -0.11
Rupee 71.885 71.38 -0.70
Ringgit 4.223 4.0890 -3.17
Yuan 7.015 6.9632 -0.73