* Oil price hike weakens Indian rupee, Indonesian rupiah
* Rupee hits worst level in more than 7 weeks
* Indonesian rupiah down to over 1-week low
(Adds text, updates prices)
By Aby Jose Koilparambil
Jan 6 (Reuters) - Most Asian currencies weakened on Monday
as risk appetite in the region was dented further, with
heightened tensions between the United States and Iran sending
crude oil and safe-haven gold prices higher.
The U.S. and Iran are locked in a war of words, exchanging
threats of attacks on each other and stoking concerns of an
extended conflict, after a top Iranian military commander was
killed in Iraq by an American drone strike on Friday.
Oil prices have surged more than 2%, sending Brent futures
above the $70 per barrel mark, following a 3% rise on Friday,
after the killing of the Iranian commander Qassem Soleimani and
the ensuing rise in tensions. O/R
"The Middle East tensions have led Brent crude prices
towards $70/bbl, up from just above $60 a month ago... The last
thing markets want is a move from a tit-for-tat (Sino-U.S.)
tariff war to sabre-rattling in the Gulf," said DBS Group
Research analysts in a note.
The currencies of India and Indonesia - two major Asian
economies exposed to the impact of oil imports on their current
account deficit - wilted under pressure.
The Indian rupee INR=IN weakened as much as 0.4% to its
worst level in more than seven weeks, while the Indonesian
rupiah IDR=ID fell about 0.3% to a one-week low of 13,920
against the dollar.
Also, Indonesia's central bank intervened in the spot
currency, domestic non-deliverable forward (DNDF) and bond
markets to stabilise movements, the head of its monetary
management, told Reuters. "The key question is whether the oil market would be able to
absorb any potential supply losses, and the simple answer is
that it will obviously depend on the scale of any disruptions,"
ING analysts wrote in a note.
The Malaysian ringgit MYR=MY , the Philippine peso PHP=
and the Korean won KRW=KFTC weakened about 0.2% each, while
the Singapore dollar SGD= fell slightly.
The weakness in the Chinese yuan CNY=CFXS was relatively
marginal - a drop of about 0.1% - even as investors await more
concrete details of the first phase of the Sino-U.S. trade deal,
scheduled for mid-month.
Meanwhile, the Taiwan dollar TWD=TP and the Thai baht
THB=TH strengthened marginally.
CURRENCIES VS U.S. DOLLAR
Change on the day at 0512 GMT
Currency Latest bid Previous day Pct Move
Japan yen 108.040 108.08 +0.04
Sing dlr 1.350 1.3496 -0.01
Taiwan dlr 30.080 30.105 +0.08
Korean won 1168.800 1167.1 -0.15
Baht 30.130 30.14 +0.03
Peso 51.190 51.1 -0.18
Rupiah 13955.000 13920 -0.25
Rupee 72.020 71.80 -0.31
Ringgit 4.107 4.1005 -0.15
Yuan 6.971 6.9650 -0.09
Change so far in 2020
Currency Latest bid End 2019 Pct Move
Japan yen 108.040 108.61 +0.53
Sing dlr 1.350 1.3444 -0.39
Taiwan dlr 30.080 30.106 +0.09
Korean won 1168.800 1156.40 -1.06
Baht 30.130 29.91 -0.73
Peso 51.190 50.65 -1.05
Rupiah 13955.000 13880 -0.54
Rupee 72.020 71.38 -0.89
Ringgit 4.107 4.0890 -0.43
Yuan 6.971 6.9632 -0.12