* S.Korean won loses 1%, most among Asian currencies
* More easing from central banks expected - DBS analysts
* Markets pricing in 100 basis point cut by U.S. Fed
(Adds text, updates prices)
By Anushka Trivedi
March 12 (Reuters) - Most Asian currencies weakened on
Thursday, as expectations rose for rate cuts by central banks in
the region after world health officials called the coronavirus
outbreak a pandemic.
Rattling already nervy markets, U.S. President Donald Trump
suspended travel from most European countries for a month, which
threatens to cause more disruptions to trade and the world
economy. Following the news, odds of a one percentage point cut to
interest rates at the Federal Reserve's policy review next week
climbed, while the dollar declined 1% against the yen JPY= and
the 10-year U.S. Treasuries yield US10YT=RR fell slightly.
FRX/ 0#FF
DBS analysts said in a note that more easing could be
expected from central banks over the next few weeks, including
in emerging markets.
The Indonesian, Taiwan and Philippine central banks are set
to hold their monetary policy meetings next week.
"With financial conditions still tight, we suspect that
several 2008-09 crisis era options will also be explored," they
said.
Singapore's president said the city-state would consider
tapping national reserves to fund a second economic package,
which would be the first such move since 2009. Several economists have trimmed their 2020 growth forecasts
for the trade-reliant economy, citing disruption from the
epidemic and weakness in the local dollar. This could see its central bank re-centre the Singapore
dollar-NEER policy band lower, DBS analysts said. SGD-NEER
refers to the exchange rate of the Singapore dollar managed
against a trade-weighted basket of currencies.
The Singapore dollar SGD= was trading 0.4% lower, while
the Indonesian rupiah IDR=ID weakened 0.9% to 14,465 against
the dollar.
Indonesia's central bank acted on its promised intervention
to steady the currency amid capital outflows by purchasing 4
trillion rupiah ($276.53 million) worth of government bonds in
an auction. Bank Indonesia may conduct a second auction later in the
afternoon session, an official said.
Other Asian currencies also took a bearing, with the Indian
rupee INR=IN and the Thai baht THBTH sliding 0.7% and 0.4%,
respectively.
South Korea, the country with the largest outbreak in Asia
outside China, saw its currency KRW=KFTC weaken 1%, the most
among Asian currencies.
The Philippine peso PHP= dropped 0.6% after the senate
went into lockdown on Thursday, with President Rodrigo Duterte
set to undergo testing for the virus. Investors now await a meeting of the European Central Bank
(ECB), which is all but certain to unveil new stimulus measures
later in the day, after the Bank of England surprised markets
with a 50 basis point rate cut on Wednesday. Some analysts have questioned the effectiveness of these
rate cuts, saying they "may provide a temporary relief in the
credit markets, but will not solve the underlying issue of the
rapidly spreading virus around the world", CMC Markets Singapore
analyst Margaret Yang Yan said.
($1 = 14,465.0000 rupiah)
The following table shows rates for Asian currencies against
the dollar at 0537 GMT.
CURRENCIES VS U.S. DOLLAR
Currency Latest bid Previous day Pct Move
Japan yen 103.970 104.53 +0.54
Sing dlr 1.401 1.3950 -0.42
Taiwan dlr 30.138 30.095 -0.14
Korean won 1205.100 1193 -1.00
Baht 31.550 31.41 -0.44
Peso 50.940 50.63 -0.61
Rupiah 14465.000 14340 -0.86
Rupee 74.145 73.65 -0.67
Ringgit 4.250 4.237 -0.31
Yuan 6.975 6.9603 -0.21
Change so far in 2020
Currency Latest bid End 2019 Pct Move
Japan yen 103.970 108.61 +4.46
Sing dlr 1.401 1.3444 -4.03
Taiwan dlr 30.138 30.106 -0.11
Korean won 1205.100 1156.40 -4.04
Baht 31.550 29.91 -5.20
Peso 50.940 50.65 -0.57
Rupiah 14465.000 13880 -4.04
Rupee 74.145 71.38 -3.73
Ringgit 4.250 4.0890 -3.79
Yuan 6.975 6.9632 -0.17