Investing.com-- Most Asian currencies rose on Thursday, led by gains in the South Korean won as the U.S. dollar remained weak amid concerns over potential trade deals, and the Federal Reserve’s interest rate path.
The US Dollar Index, which measures the greenback against a basket of major currencies, fell 0.2%, remaining weak after sharp declines earlier this week.
S. Korean won leads gains after volatile session
The South Korean won strengthened on Thursday, with its USD/KRW pair falling 0.8% after a turbulent session on Wednesday.
The currency ended largely unchanged after gaining as much as 2% against the greenback.
Bloomberg on Wednesday reported that South Korea and U.S. officials discussed exchange rate policies at a May 5 meeting.
However, a later report showed that U.S. officials were not including exchange rate policies as part of global trade negotiations.
“The dollar is doing its best to unwind April’s sharp losses,” ING analysts said in a recent note.
“But the US policy scare last month – plus the latent fear of another ‘sell America’ moment emerging this summer as unfunded tax cuts proceed through Congress – should now limit the dollar recovery,” they added.
The Taiwanese dollar’s USD/TWD pair fell 0.7%.
The Japanese yen’s USD/JPY lost 0.5%, extending declines. Japan’s first-quarter gross domestic product data is due on Friday.
Other regional currencies were largely muted as investors were concerned about the potential trade deals, and the Federal Reserve’s interest rate path after soft CPI data this week.
The Chinese yuan’s offshore USD/CNH and the onshore USD/CNY pairs were both muted.
The Singapore dollar’s USD/SGD pair edged 0.2% lower, while the Indian rupee’s USD/INR pair edged up 0.1%.
Aussie dollar edges up after robust jobs data
Data on Thursday showed that Australia’s job market surged in April, with employment rising by 89,000—far above expectations.
This signaled a tight labor market and complicated the Reserve Bank of Australia’s rate-cut path.
The RBA is set to meet next week to decide its benchmark interest rates, where markets are divided on whether the central bank will cut rates.
The Australian dollar’s AUD/USD pair edged up 0.2% on Thursday.