* Indian rupee set to post biggest weekly loss in over one
month
* Heavy foreign outflows in equities weigh on Philippine
peso
* Indonesia central bank kept rates on hold on Thursday
(Adds text, updates prices)
By Shreya Mariam Job
Dec 20 (Reuters) - The South Korean won gained the most
among Asian currencies on Friday, buoyed by the positive
developments surrounding the "phase one" trade deal, while most
other units remained subdued amid lack of market triggers ahead
of the holiday season.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said on Thursday the
United States and China would sign their so-called "Phase one"
trade pact at the beginning of January, adding that it was
completely finished and just undergoing a technical "scrub."
The South Korean won KRW=KFTC strengthened 0.4% and was
set to post a weekly gain of about 0.9%. The trade-reliant
economy has been heavily bruised by the prolonged trade war.
However, the sentiment wasn't carried across the other
currencies in the region, with many nearly unchanged.
"Market activity across Asia is set to thin out from now to
year-end, considering the scarcity of market catalysts over the
coming weeks. However, the U.S.-China "phase one" deal is likely
to keep risk appetite intact going into 2020," said Han Tan, a
market analyst at FXTM.
Meanwhile, the Philippine peso PHP= weakened up to 0.4%
to see its worst session in nearly three weeks.
"It's the continuation of the foreign outflows from the
Philippines equity markets all week that is putting pressure on
PHP," said Mahesh Sethuraman, deputy head of global sales
trading at Saxo Capital Markets.
The country's benchmark stock index dropped as much as 2.4%
to its lowest in near one year.
The Indian rupee INR=IN weakened 0.2% after the central
bank said on Thursday that it would conduct simultaneous sale
and purchase of bonds which is widely seen by market players as
a bid to bring longer-term bond yields lower. For the week, the rupee weakened 0.5%, its biggest weekly
loss in over a month.
The Indonesian rupiah IDR= slipped marginally. The central
bank on Thursday left its key interest rate unchanged but
maintained a dovish stance expecting further easing next year to
support its slowing economic growth. Elsewhere, Taiwan's central bank raised its growth forecast
for the economy on Thursday, which has been benefiting from the
relocation of manufacturers from the mainland to the island in
an attempt to evade rising trade tariffs. This helped the Taiwan
dollar TWD=TP which firmed 0.1%. VS U.S. DOLLAR
Change on the day at 0623 GMT
Currency Latest bid Previous day Pct Move
Japan yen 109.300 109.37 +0.06
Sing dlr 1.356 1.3551 -0.05
Taiwan dlr 30.170 30.208 +0.13
Korean won 1161.300 1165.6 +0.37
Baht 30.190 30.2 +0.03
Peso 50.740 50.59 -0.30
Rupiah 13995.000 13980 -0.11
Rupee 71.160 71.03 -0.18
Ringgit 4.140 4.14 +0.00
Yuan 7.009 7.0100 +0.01
Change so far in 2019
Currency Latest bid End 2018 Pct Move
Japan yen 109.300 109.56 +0.24
Sing dlr 1.356 1.3627 +0.51
Taiwan dlr 30.170 30.733 +1.87
Korean won 1161.300 1115.70 -3.93
Baht 30.190 32.55 +7.82
Peso 50.740 52.47 +3.41
Rupiah 13995.000 14375 +2.72
Rupee 71.160 69.77 -1.95
Ringgit 4.140 4.1300 -0.24
Yuan 7.009 6.8730 -1.94