EM ASIA FX-Firm dollar, weak Australia data hurt Asia FX
(Fixes para 16 to previous 'quarter' instead of 'month')
* Won eases on intervention caution
* Rupiah down on importers dollar demand
* Philippine peso dips, Q3 growth lower than forecasts
By Jongwoo Cheon
SINGAPORE, Nov 26 (Reuters) - Most emerging Asian currencies
fell on Thursday as the dollar held firm after solid U.S.
economic data, and a record slump in Australian business
investment underscored concerns over uneven global growth.
The South Korean won eased after the foreign
exchange authorities were suspected of intervening on Wednesday
to stem strength in the third-best performing emerging Asian
currency so far this year, traders said.
Indonesia's rupiah skidded on month-end corporate
dollar demand.
The Philippine peso dipped in thin trading with
data showing the country's economy in the third quarter grew
slower than expected.
The U.S. dollar returned to a bullish trend as strong
manufacturing output and business investment plan numbers added
to prospects of interest rate hikes by the Federal Reserve.
By contrast, other economies continued to slow down.
Australian business investment fell by the most on record last
quarter as companies slashed spending on plant and buildings,
data showed, a sharp blow to economic growth which sent the
Aussie dollar reeling.
Frederic Neumann, co-head of Asian economics at HSBC, said
weaker economic growth in the United States, China or Europe
would be bigger risks to Asia than Fed's rate hike.
"A recession in any of these economies would quickly
percolate around the world, with policy-makers having few
bullets left in their belts," Neumann said in a note.
"It's not higher rates we should fret about, but the fact
that we may not be able to push them much lower to stave off
another global slump."
WON
The won slumped as caution grew over possible intervention
by the foreign exchange authorities.
On Wednesday, the authorities were suspected of having
intervened in the local currency market around the close as the
won hit a near three-week high, traders said.
The South Korean currency on Thursday pared some of earlier
losses as exporters bought it for month-end settlements.
RUPIAH
The rupiah slid as importers bought dollars for month-end
payments.
The official Jakarta Interbank Spot Dollar Rate,
which the central bank introduced in 2013 to manage exchange
rate fluctuations, was fixed at 13,733, weaker than the previous
13,673.
The Indonesian currency's downside was limited as most
government bonds prices rose. Ten-year debt yield
slid to 8.602 percent, its lowest since Nov 9.
PHILIPPINE PESO
The peso eased as the Philippine economy grew 1.1 percent in
the third quarter on a seasonally adjusted basis from the
previous quarter, below the 1.5 percent forecast in a Reuters
poll.
Still, the economy stayed on track to be one of Asia's
fastest growing this year on its solid services sector, helping
the currency recover some losses.
The country's Economic Planning Secretary Arsenio Balisacan
said the economy will "very likely" grow by as much as 6 percent
this year.
CURRENCIES VS U.S. DOLLAR
Change on the day at 0545 GMT
Currency Latest bid Previous day Pct Move
Japan yen 122.57 122.70 +0.11
Sing dlr 1.4068 1.4042 -0.18
Taiwan dlr 32.460 32.647 +0.58
Korean won 1147.90 1143.40 -0.39
Baht 35.71 35.70 -0.03
Peso 47.04 46.97 -0.15
Rupiah 13720.00 13685.00 -0.26
Rupee 66.48 66.32 -0.23
Ringgit 4.2150 4.2165 +0.04
Yuan 6.3893 6.3892 -0.00
Change so far in 2015
Currency Latest bid End prev year Pct Move
Japan yen 122.57 119.66 -2.38
Sing dlr 1.4068 1.3260 -5.74
Taiwan dlr 32.460 31.718 -2.29
Korean won 1147.90 1099.30 -4.23
Baht 35.71 32.90 -7.87
Peso 47.04 44.72 -4.93
Rupiah 13720.00 12380.00 -9.77
Rupee 66.48 63.03 -5.18
Ringgit 4.2150 3.4965 -17.05
Yuan 6.3893 6.2040 -2.90
(Editing by Kavita Chandran)
