* Risk appetite for Asia FX improves on USD weakness
* S.Korean won posts biggest intraday pct gain since April
17
* Thai cenbank to consider steps to temper baht strength
(Adds text, updates prices)
By Shriya Ramakrishnan
June 1 (Reuters) - Asian currencies firmed against the
dollar on Monday, with the South Korean won leading the pack, on
relief that Washington's response to Beijing's passage of
national security laws for Hong Kong was less severe than
feared.
U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday ordered his
administration to begin the process of eliminating special U.S.
treatment for Hong Kong to punish China, but left their trade
deal intact. "The (U.S.) president on the matter of Hong Kong had stopped
short of sanctions or even touching on any other fresh
restrictions or potential trade barriers, helping to ease some
of the frayed nerves across U.S. to Asia," said Jingyi Pan,
market strategist at IG Asia.
The Chinese yuan CNY=CFXS rose 0.2% in onshore trade,
helped by a firmer-than-expected midpoint fix by the central
bank.
"The fix has consistently come in close to expectations and
capped USD/CNH below 7.20 so far," said Stephen Innes, chief
global markets strategist at AxiCorp.
"But given the tamer reactions to the HK law by Trump, we
will see a pullback in bearish CNH bets even more so if China
does not respond."
Data released over the weekend painted a mixed picture for
China, with factory activity growing at a slower pace in May,
while momentum in the services and construction sectors
quickened. The dollar was also on the back foot as riots in major U.S.
cities against police brutality rattled investors and offered
additional support for riskier Asian assets. USD/
Leading gains in the region, the South Korean won KRW=KFTC
strengthened as much as 1%, its biggest intraday percentage gain
since April 17.
The won, which has witnessed increased volatility in light
of heightened Sino-U.S. tensions, thus saw a quicker recovery
relative to its Asian peers.
The Singapore dollar SGD= and the Taiwan dollar TWD=TP
advanced 0.3% and 0.4%, respectively, while the Malaysian
ringgit MYR=MY climbed 0.7% to its strongest level since May
8.
The Thai baht THB=TH gained 0.2% to its strongest level in
more than two months. The currency, Asia's best performer in
2019, is down 5.8% so far this year.
Thailand's central bank has expressed concern that a rapid
rise in the baht may not be in line with economic conditions,
and that it is to ready to use additional measures to temper its
strength. The Indian rupee INR=IN climbed 0.3%, while the Indonesian
rupiah IDR=ID did not trade on account of a holiday.
CURRENCIES VS U.S. DOLLAR
Change on the day at
0450 GMT
Currency Latest Previous Pct
bid day Move
Japan yen 107.610 107.77 +0.15
Sing dlr 1.408 1.4115 +0.28
Taiwan dlr 29.908 30.032 +0.41
Korean won 1227.400 1238.5 +0.90
Baht 31.750 31.8 +0.16
Peso 50.416 50.46 +0.09
Rupee 75.370 75.62 +0.33
Ringgit 4.314 4.345 +0.72
Yuan 7.120 7.1348 +0.20
Change so far in 2020
Currency Latest End 2019 Pct
bid Move
Japan yen 107.610 108.61 +0.93
Sing dlr 1.408 1.3444 -4.48
Taiwan dlr 29.908 30.106 +0.66
Korean won 1227.400 1156.40 -5.78
Baht 31.750 29.91 -5.80
Peso 50.416 50.65 +0.46
Rupee 75.370 71.38 -5.29
Ringgit 4.314 4.0890 -5.22
Yuan 7.120 6.9632 -2.21