* Indonesian rupiah leads gains
* Yuan eases ahead of Trump's response
* S. Korea says won coupling with yuan not desirable
(Adds text, updates prices)
By Shriya Ramakrishnan
May 29 (Reuters) - Most Asian currencies firmed on Friday,
helped by a better-than- expected yuan fix by China's central
bank, while Washington's response to Beijing's passage of a
national security law for Hong Kong remained in focus.
U.S. President Donald Trump is due to announce later in the
day his response to the Chinese parliament's advancement of
security legislation for Hong Kong, which many lawyers,
diplomats and investors fear could erode the city's freedoms.
Hong Kong has warned Washington that the withdrawal of the
financial hub's special status could backfire on the U.S.
economy.
The Chinese yuan CNY=CFXS inched down to 7.147 against the
greenback in onshore trade. While China's central bank set the
midpoint of the yuan weaker than its previous fix, traders said
the official fixing was set firmer than market projections for a
third straight session. CNY/
"The yuan fixing came through better than feared, suggesting
that the authorities are not turning to weakening the yuan at
present despite the deteriorating relations between U.S. and
China," said Jingyi Pan, a market strategist at IG Asia.
Leading gains in the region, the Indonesian rupiah IDR=
advanced 0.7% to 14,575 against the dollar.
A Bank Indonesia official confirmed that dollar selling by
foreign banks supported the rupiah, adding, it was in line with
strengthening in the domestic non-deliverable forward market.
Governor Perry Warjiyo said on Thursday the central bank
thinks the rupiah has the potential to strengthen to
pre-COVID-19 levels of around 13,600 to 13,800 to the dollar.
The Singapore dollar SGD=D3 and South Korean won
KRW=KFTC firmed 0.3% each.
South Korea's finance minister pledged to take steps to
stabilise its currency if volatility rises sharply in light of
Sino-U.S. tensions, adding that it was not desirable for the won
coupling with the yuan. The Indian rupee INR=IN rose 0.2% during the session.
Investors now await the release of India's GDP data, which
is expected to show that the economy grew at its slowest pace in
at least two years during the January-March quarter, according
to a Reuters poll. The Taiwan dollar TWD=TP gained 0.2% and was on course to
rise for the week, after three consecutive weekly declines. The
currency is the top performer in the region so far this year.
"A house in order (the coronavirus outbreak being under
control) allows it to capitalise on its key strength, its
technology sector, when others were busy fighting fires," said
Christopher Wong, a senior FX strategist at Maybank Singapore.
CURRENCIES VS U.S. DOLLAR
Change on the day at
0555 GMT
Currency Latest bid Previous Pct
day Move
Japan yen 107.120 107.63 +0.48
Sing dlr 1.413 1.4173 +0.33
Taiwan dlr 29.975 30.045 +0.23
Korean won 1236.000 1239.6 +0.29
Baht 31.820 31.855 +0.11
Peso 50.605 50.55 -0.11
Rupiah 14575.000 14675 +0.69
Rupee 75.610 75.75 +0.18
Ringgit 4.347 4.348 +0.02
Yuan 7.147 7.1447 -0.04
Change so far in 2020
Currency Latest bid End 2019 Pct
Move
Japan yen 107.120 108.61 +1.39
Sing dlr 1.413 1.3444 -4.83
Taiwan dlr 29.975 30.106 +0.44
Korean won 1236.000 1156.40 -6.44
Baht 31.820 29.91 -6.00
Peso 50.605 50.65 +0.09
Rupiah 14575.000 13880 -4.77
Rupee 75.610 71.38 -5.59
Ringgit 4.347 4.0890 -5.94
Yuan 7.147 6.9632 -2.58