Won leads Asian gains as Fed signals slower tightening

Hong Kong

SOUTH Korea's won and Indonesia's rupiah led gains in Asian currencies after the Federal Reserve signalled slower US interest-rate increases than previously forecast. Seven of the 11 most traded Asian currencies advanced on Thursday. The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index, which tracks the greenback against 10 major peers, fell the most in six years on Wednesday after the Fed opened the door to the first rate increase in almost a decade. The central bank dropped an assurance it will be "patient" in tightening policy and lowered projections for the benchmark and economic growth.

"Bets on the greenback's gains declined sharply as expectations of early US rate increases moderated," said Hong Seok Chan, a Seoul-based currency analyst at Daishin Economy Research Institute.