Aftershocks of yuan drop may dent Asian economies: analysts

Singapore

CHEAPER Chinese exports, a slowdown in Chinese tourism and further softness in global commodities in the wake of the yuan devaluation could put a dent in several North Asian economies plus Thailand and Malaysia, which may be tempted to weaken their own currencies to cope, analysts said on Thursday while flagging risks of further rate cuts in Thailand and Korea later this year.

But the analysts also sought to downplay fears of overdone reactions, pointing out that if the yuan falls significantly more, regional currencies will probably not follow it the entire way down due to the danger of over-depreciating.

And though investors have temporarily scurried towards gold as a safe haven in the short term, t…