Asian currencies traded mixed on Thursday as the U.S. dollar hovered near a two-month high, while the Japanese yen weakened following conflicting signals from the Bank of Japan over the pace of future interest rate hikes.
The U.S. dollar index climbed about 0.13% to 101.58 after gaining roughly 2% in September, its strongest monthly performance since June. Elevated Treasury yields continued to support the greenback, although softer-than-expected U.S. inflation reduced expectations that the Federal Reserve will raise rates in October.
The yen was among the weaker regional currencies, with USD/JPY rising 0.5% to 158.15 after touching a two-week high of 158.21. The BOJ’s September meeting summary showed policymakers divided over Japan’s economic strength and how quickly interest rates should increase.
Some officials favored accelerating rate hikes, while others highlighted weakness in domestic demand despite positive second-quarter growth. Markets now assign less than a 20% probability to a BOJ hike by October 30, down from above 30% on Wednesday, while a December increase is fully priced.
The Australian dollar remained near a two-month low, with AUD/USD around $0.69. Australia’s August trade surplus narrowed to A$495 million from a revised A$1.35 billion in July, missing expectations of roughly A$2 billion. The data followed the Reserve Bank of Australia’s 25-basis-point rate increase to 4.60%, the highest since 2011.
China’s offshore yuan weakened slightly, with USD/CNH rising 0.1% to 6.72, while USD/CNY held near 6.70. Mainland Chinese markets are closed from October 1 through October 7 for the National Day holiday.
South Korea reported a strong 83.5% year-on-year surge in September exports to a record monthly high, exceeding expectations for 62% growth. However, the won remained pressured, with USD/KRW rising 0.2% to 1,359.80.
Elsewhere, USD/IDR jumped 0.67% to 17,949 as Indonesia’s rupiah faced pressure from higher U.S. yields, a strong dollar and elevated oil prices. USD/SGD gained 0.16%, while NZD/USD declined 0.14%.
