Asian currencies completed a weekly decline, led by the Taiwan dollar and South Korea’s won, as an uprising in Libya pushed up oil prices and sapped demand for emerging-market assets. The Bloomberg-JPMorgan Asia Dollar Index, which tracks the region’s 10 most-traded currencies, had its worst week since Jan. 7 after crude climbed to a 29-month high of $103.41 a barrel yesterday on escalating political turmoil in Libya, holder of Africa’s largest oil reserves. Global funds sold $1.5 billion more Taiwanese, South Korean and Indonesian stocks than they bought this week through yesterday, exchange data show. “Geopolitical risks increased risk-aversion sentiment in the region,” said Frances Cheung, a senior strategist at Credit Agricole CIB in Hong Kong. “Asian markets continued to experience foreign outflows.” Taiwan’s dollar slumped 1.2 percent this week to NT$29.754 versus the greenback as of the 4 p.m. local time close, according to Taipei Forex Inc. South Korea’s won dropped 1.3 percent to 1,126.45, the Philippine peso weakened 0.8 percent to 43.708 and the Malaysian ringgit fell 0.5 percent to 3.0505. Oil prices have climbed more than 14 percent this week, raising concern inflation will accelerate and threaten global economic growth. Deutsche Bank AG estimates a sustained increase of $10 a barrel would cut growth in the U.S. economy by 0.5 percent over two years. Equity Sales Taiwan’s dollar sunk to the lowest since Jan. 7 after overseas investors sold a net $1 billion of the island’s equities in the first four days of the week. The benchmark Taiex index of stocks retreated 2.8 percent from a week ago. The peso had its biggest weekly decline since the period ending Jan. 7 on concern the rising oil price will push up its import costs. The Philippines is “watching closely” the tension in the Middle East and its impact on crude prices, Economic Planning Secretary Cayetano Paderanga said today. The country imports almost all of the oil it uses. Oil prices rising to record levels spooked financial markets,” said Joey Cuyegkeng, an economist at ING Groep NV in Manila. “Markets will remain relatively cautious.” The won touched 1,135.45 on Feb. 23, its weakest level this year. South Korea imports almost all of its oil and higher prices may hurt the nation’s current-account surplus, which narrowed to an 11-month low in January. Malaysian Inflation The ringgit posted a weekly decline after official data this week showed inflation accelerated to 2.4 percent in January from a year earlier, the fastest pace since May 2009. “The risk aversion because of the Middle East was rapid,” said Akira Banno, a treasury adviser at Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ Bhd. in Kuala Lumpur. “Investors are concerned that cash may be taken out of Asia.” Elsewhere, the Indian rupee dropped 0.3 percent this week to 45.3525 against the dollar, the Thai baht declined 0.2 percent to 30.64 and the Singapore dollar was little changed at S$1.2751, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. China’s yuan was little changed at 6.5750, while Indonesia’s rupiah strengthened 0.2 percent to 8,838. To contact the reporters on this story: Yumi Teso in Bangkok at yteso1@bloomberg.net; Andrea Wong in Taipei at awong268@bloomberg.net To contact the editor responsible for this story: Sandy Hendry at shendry@bloomberg.net

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