* Yuan hits 6-mth high, set for 6th straight session of
gains
* Taiwan dollar up; c.bank denies swap intervention in FX
market
* Baht strength a thorn in the side of the authorities -
economist
(Adds text, updates prices)
By Niyati Shetty
Jan 14 (Reuters) - The Chinese yuan firmed to its strongest
level in six months on Tuesday, leading most other Asian
currencies higher, as the U.S. Treasury Department removed its
designation of China as a currency manipulator.
The yuan CNY=CFXS strengthened as much as 0.4% to 6.8661
per dollar and was poised for its sixth straight session of
gains.
Monday's announcement comes ahead of the signing of a Phase
1 trade deal between the United States and China due on Jan. 15,
expected to ease tensions between the two countries.
"While there had been little changes to Asia economies'
participation to the U.S. FX report watchlist, this lifting of
China's currency manipulator label may see to some relief for
USD/Asian declines which would be beneficial to regional
markets," said Jingyi Pan, market strategist at IG.
The U.S. Treasury report cited continued concerns about the
currency practices of nine other countries, including Malaysia,
Singapore and South Korea.
The South Korean won KRW=KFTC advanced 0.2%, while the
Malaysian ringgit MYR= and the Singapore dollar SGD= were
little changed.
Taiwan's dollar TWD=TP was up 0.2% even though the U.S.
report said the country was close to triggering thresholds to be
added to the currency monitoring list. A senior official of Taiwan's central bank told Reuters on
Tuesday that the bank has never used swaps to intervene in the
currency market, after the Treasury Department cited an analyst
report suggesting the island was doing so.
Adding to the cheer in Asian markets, China's trade data for
December beat forecasts with exports rising for the first time
since July 2019 and imports rising 16.3% from a year earlier.
BAHT FALTERS ON CENBANK CONCERNS
The Thai baht THB=TH pared losses from a decline of 0.3%
earlier in the session, after the Bank of Thailand's (BOT)
briefing ended with no surprises.
A deputy central bank governor said on Tuesday that BoT is
still concerned about the strength of the baht and is ready to
take further action if necessary. Baht's outperformance is a thorn in the side of the
authorities as this is inconsistent with weak macro conditions,
said Radhika Rao, economist at DBS Group.
The unit was the best performing currency in Asia last year,
advancing about 8% against the dollar.
The following table shows rates for Asian currencies against
the dollar at 0432 GMT.
CURRENCIES VS U.S. DOLLAR
Currency Latest bid Previous day Pct Move
Japan yen 110.040 109.93 -0.10
Sing dlr 1.346 1.3463 +0.00
Taiwan dlr 29.886 29.952 +0.22
Korean won 1153.400 1156 +0.23
Baht 30.240 30.23 -0.03
Peso 50.520 50.46 -0.12
Rupiah 13655.000 13665 +0.07
Rupee 70.855 70.86 +0.01
Ringgit 4.060 4.061 +0.02
Yuan 6.874 6.8925 +0.27
Change so far in 2020
Currency Latest bid End 2019 Pct Move
Japan yen 110.040 108.61 -1.30
Sing dlr 1.346 1.3444 -0.14
Taiwan dlr 29.886 30.106 +0.74
Korean won 1153.400 1156.40 +0.26
Baht 30.240 29.91 -1.09
Peso 50.520 50.65 +0.26
Rupiah 13655.000 13880 +1.65
Rupee 70.855 71.38 +0.74
Ringgit 4.060 4.0890 +0.71
Yuan 6.874 6.9632 +1.30