* Won hits strongest level in more than 4 months
* Taiwanese dollar appreciates to an over 16-month high
* Yuan hits firmest point in more than two-and-a-half months
(Adds text, updates prices)
By Aby Jose Koilparambil
Nov 4 (Reuters) - Asian currencies strengthened on Monday,
with the South Korean won KRW=KFTC leading the gains, as
growing optimism over a potential Sino-U.S. trade deal and
upbeat U.S. jobs data whetted investors' risk appetite.
The United States and China both said on Friday that they
had made progress in talks aimed at defusing their festering
16-month-long trade war, and U.S. officials said a deal could be
signed this month. Meanwhile, data released on Friday showed the U.S. job
growth slowed less than expected in October and hiring in the
prior two months was stronger than previously estimated.
Those numbers followed a private survey of manufacturers in
China that showed better-than-expected factory activity in
October. "Resilience in the U.S. labour market despite weakness in
the manufacturing sector, optimism on China-U.S. trade talks and
a perceived receding of hard Brexit risks have led to an
improvement in risk appetite, allowing USD strength to ease
somewhat," said Philip Wee, FX strategist at DBS Group in a
note.
Against a basket of six currencies, the dollar was trading
at 97.194 .DXY having touched a three-month low of 97.107 on
Friday.
The won appreciated as much as 0.6% to touch its best level
since July 1, building on its recent strength, having posted
five successive weekly gains.
The Taiwanese dollar TWD=TP put on as much as 0.3% to its
strongest since July 2018.
There were comparatively significant gains in the Indian
rupee INR=IN and the Chinese yuan CNY=CFXS as well,
advancing up to 0.4% and 0.2%, respectively.
The yuan hit its firmest level in more than two-and-a-half
months, while the rupee appreciated to 70.56 against the dollar
to mark its best level in more than a month.
The Indonesian rupiah IDR=ID and the Philippine peso
PHP= strengthened slightly on the day, while the Singapore
dollar SGD= and the Thai baht THB=TH were relatively little
changed.
MALAYSIAN RINGGIT
The Malaysian ringgit MYR=MY tacked on as much as 0.3% to
hit its firmest level in nearly three months.
Investors shrugged off weak September export data, which
registers their biggest decline in nearly three years amid
subdued demand from major trade partners. September's export numbers came in far lower than analysts'
forecast for a marginal drop of 0.1%. The month's figures were
the worst export performance since October 2016, when shipments
fell 8.5% on-year.
CURRENCIES VS U.S. DOLLAR
Change on the day at 0550 GMT
Currency Latest bid Previous day Pct Move
Japan yen 108.230 108.17 -0.06
Sing dlr 1.357 1.3573 +0.04
Taiwan dlr 30.401 30.479 +0.26
Korean won 1160.400 1165.6 +0.45
Baht 30.150 30.16 +0.03
Peso 50.440 50.48 +0.08
Rupiah 14013.000 14030 +0.12
Rupee 70.710 70.81 +0.14
Ringgit 4.152 4.164 +0.29
Yuan 7.028 7.0372 +0.14
Change so far in 2019
Currency Latest bid End 2018 Pct Move
Japan yen 108.230 109.56 +1.23
Sing dlr 1.357 1.3627 +0.43
Taiwan dlr 30.401 30.733 +1.09
Korean won 1160.400 1115.70 -3.85
Baht 30.150 32.55 +7.96
Peso 50.440 52.47 +4.02
Rupiah 14013.000 14375 +2.58
Rupee 70.710 69.77 -1.33
Ringgit 4.152 4.1300 -0.53
Yuan 7.028 6.8730 -2.20