Dollar slightly stronger against emerging market currencies

The dollar was little changed against most of
its Asia-Pacific peers on Friday as foreign
exchange dealers looked ahead to closely
watched US employment figures released later
in the day.
The exceptions were the Malaysian ringgit and
the South Korean won, which both shedded
more than half a percent against the dollar as
most regional equity markets paused after a
two-day rally marking the beginning of the
month.
With analysts expecting a fresh clue from the
US jobs report on whether the Federal Reserve
will change its monetary policy this year, the
greenback edged up against a handful of other
currencies from emerging economies.
“Today’s US payrolls number has once again
been labelled a ‘much watch’,” Chris Weston,
chief markets strategist at IG Markets, said.
“To be fair, I think traders are getting a bit
exhausted of these event risks which are
supposed to carry so much weight that they
can alter the investment landscape.”
Equity markets have seen a spike in volatility
since China suddenly devalued its yuan
currency in August, triggering the largest
quarterly selloff since 2011.
The turmoil in financial markets was a key
factor the Fed held off raising near-zero
interest rates in September, but investors still
expect the hike to come before the end of the
year.
The ringgit declined 0.80 percent against the
US unit, while the won was down 0.53
percent.
Other Asia-Pacific currencies also lost against
the dollar: the Singapore dollar fell 0.26
percent, the Thai baht lost 0.36 percent and
the Australian dollar edged 0.02 lower to
70.29 US cents.
The Indian rupee rose 0.11 percent, while the
Taiwan dollar and the Indonesian rupiah
traded flat.
With the unemployment rate expected near
seven-year lows, a strong reading in the
unemployment figures will likely add to calls
for the US central bank to start raising rates
gradually, putting further pressure on
emerging economies as investors take out
their cash to seek better returns in the US.
The US unit rose to 119.94 yen from 119.93
yen Thursday in New York, while the euro
traded at $1.1174 and 134.02 yen from $1.1187
and 134.16 yen in US trade.