Asean currencies turn the tide against the greenback after a rocky start to the year

SOUTH-EAST Asia’s struggling currencies are regaining their footing against the US dollar, following a tough first half of the year that saw some of them plunge to new lows and others hitting multi-year troughs nearly every day.

Economists say Asean currencies have been buoyed by a multitude of factors, including external ones such as concerns of a recession in the United States, weaker-than-expected US data and a repricing of the pace of US rate cuts.

Following the Bank of Japan’s surprise hike on Jul 31 to around 0.25 per cent from a range of zero to 0.1 per cent, debate around additional rate hikes has been marked by an overall hawkish tone, which has driven the yen further upwards and lifted a number of Asian currencies.