* Malaysian ringgit, Taiwan dollar lead gains
* Indonesian rupiah hits more than 2-month low
(Adds text, updates prices)
By Shriya Ramakrishnan
Feb 27 (Reuters) - Most emerging Asian currencies held
ground on Thursday, as rising U.S. rate cut bets amid a spike in
coronavirus cases beyond China prompted dollar buyers to take a
pause.
Fears of a pandemic mounted after the number of new
coronavirus infections inside China was for the first time
overtaken by fresh cases elsewhere on Wednesday, with Italy and
Iran emerging as epicentres of the rapidly spreading illness.
Markets have priced in a 45.4% probability of a U.S. rate
cut when the Federal Reserve meets in March, up from 6.7% a week
earlier, according to the CME FedWatch tool. FEDWATCH
"We've started to price in action for the Fed," said Stuart
Oakley, global head of flow FX at Nomura in Singapore.
"That's probably put the kibosh on the dollar rallying more,
but I think it's all fairly temporary to be honest ... The
dollar will probably grind out some more strength at some
point."
The Taiwan dollar TWD=TP strengthened as much as 0.4%
against the greenback and was set for a third straight session
of gains.
Taiwan raised its epidemic response level to the highest as
it readied a $2 billion package to cushion the virus impact on
its export-reliant economy, the official Central News Agency
reported. The move will allow the government to tackle the virus
outbreak in a much faster manner, the report added.
The Malaysian ringgit MYR= advanced 0.3% to 4.21 per
dollar, as risk appetite improved ahead of a long-awaited
economic stimulus package, which the government is likely to
announce later in the day.
The Thai baht THB=TH firmed 0.2%, while the Singapore
dollar SGD= was flat.
The South Korean won KRW=KFTC rose up to 0.6% after the
central bank surprisingly kept interest rates unchanged.
The currency later gave up the gains to trade slightly lower
as the country reported its largest daily increase in new
coronavirus cases. The Chinese yuan CNY=CFXS inched higher as the country
reported the slowest daily increase in coronavirus deaths in
almost a month. CNY/
The Indonesian rupiah IDR= was the worst performer,
weakening 0.4% to a more than two-month low.
"It is catching up with losses in other regional currencies.
Risk aversion sentiment could prompt investors to square carry
trade positions," said Gao Qi, currency strategist - EM Asia at
Scotiabank.
CURRENCIES VS U.S. DOLLAR
Change on the day at 0559 GMT
Currency Latest bid Previous day Pct Move
Japan yen 110.040 110.42 +0.35
Sing dlr 1.397 1.3973 +0.04
Taiwan dlr 30.296 30.383 +0.29
Korean won 1217.000 1216.9 -0.01
Baht 31.800 31.85 +0.16
Peso 51.100 51.05 -0.10
Rupiah 13975.000 13925 -0.36
Rupee 71.640 71.64 +0.00
Ringgit 4.210 4.223 +0.31
Yuan 7.019 7.0230 +0.06
Change so far in 2020
Currency Latest bid End 2019 Pct Move
Japan yen 110.040 108.61 -1.30
Sing dlr 1.397 1.3444 -3.75
Taiwan dlr 30.296 30.106 -0.63
Korean won 1217.000 1156.40 -4.98
Baht 31.800 29.91 -5.94
Peso 51.100 50.65 -0.88
Rupiah 13975.000 13880 -0.68
Rupee 71.640 71.38 -0.36
Ringgit 4.210 4.0890 -2.87
Yuan 7.019 6.9632 -0.79