* Indonesian rupiah weakens
* Thai Nov inflation rate quickens to 0.21%
* Indonesia Nov inflation slows
(Adds text, updates prices)
By Shriya Ramakrishnan
Dec 2 (Reuters) - Emerging Asian currencies weakened against
the dollar on Monday, as uncertainty around an initial Sino-U.S.
trade deal offset upbeat economic data from China.
Caution pervaded in markets, with a deadline on an
imposition of additional 15% tariffs on Chinese products by the
United States just two weeks away, and Beijing demanding
scrapping of existing tariffs as part of the trade deal.
Data over the weekend showed factory activity in China
unexpectedly returned to growth in November for the first time
in seven months, as domestic demand picked up on Beijing's
accelerated stimulus measures to steady growth. "I think developments on a phase one trade deal is still
something markets pay more attention to. The improvement in
China's PMI were welcomed... but it doesn't change the fact that
Chinese growth will still be impacted by the ongoing trade war,"
Khoon Goh, head of Asia research at ANZ Banking Group
(Singapore) said.
South Korea's won KRW=KFTC strengthened as much as 0.3%,
before erasing gains. The trade-reliant economy's exports in
November plunged for a 12th month in a row. China's yuan CNY=CFXS edged up after the central bank's
governor said that China would not resort to competitive
devaluation of the yuan and would aim to keep it broadly stable.
CNY/
The Malaysian ringgit MYR= , Singapore dollar SGD= and
the Thai baht THB=TH eased 0.1% each.
Thailand's headline consumer price index rose 0.21% in
November, but remained below Bank of Thailand's 1%-4% target
range for a sixth straight month. A jump in oil prices put pressure on the region's net
importers. The Indonesian rupiah IDR= weakened 0.2%, while the
Philippine peso PHP= dipped 0.1%.
Indonesia's annual inflation rate slowed for a third
straight month in a row, its weakest pace since April, the
country's statistics bureau said on Monday. INDIAN RUPEE
The Indian rupee INR= was little changed at 71.71 per
dollar.
Data on Friday showed India's annual economic growth slowed
to its weakest pace since 2013 in the July-September quarter,
putting pressure on Prime Minister Narendra Modi to speed up
reforms. Markets now await Reserve Bank of India's (RBI) policy
meeting this week, where a 25 basis points cut is widely
expected, though economists now see only a marginal impact from
monetary easing to the economy.
"We think the economy needs more than fiscal or monetary
stimulus," analysts at ING said in a note on Sunday.
"Accelerated economic and banking sector reforms and strong
infrastructure investment are needed to regain the 7%-8% growth
potential."
India will unveil a series of infrastructure projects this
month as part of a plan to invest 100 trillion rupees ($1.39
trillion) in the sector over the next five years, the finance
minister said on Saturday. VS U.S. DOLLAR
Change on the day at 0530 GMT
Currency Latest bid Previous day Pct Move
Japan yen 109.620 109.51 -0.10
Sing dlr 1.368 1.3672 -0.06
Taiwan dlr 30.490 30.513 +0.08
Korean won 1182.100 1181.2 -0.08
Baht 30.230 30.21 -0.07
Peso 50.880 50.84 -0.08
Rupiah 14121.000 14100 -0.15
Rupee 71.710 71.74 +0.04
Ringgit 4.178 4.175 -0.06
Yuan 7.031 7.0320 +0.02
Change so far in 2019
Currency Latest bid End 2018 Pct Move
Japan yen 109.620 109.56 -0.05
Sing dlr 1.368 1.3627 -0.39
Taiwan dlr 30.490 30.733 +0.80
Korean won 1182.100 1115.70 -5.62
Baht 30.230 32.55 +7.67
Peso 50.880 52.47 +3.13
Rupiah 14121.000 14375 +1.80
Rupee 71.710 69.77 -2.71
Ringgit 4.178 4.1300 -1.14
Yuan 7.031 6.8730 -2.24