Asian currencies declined, led by South Korea’s won and the Philippine peso, on concern central banks will intervene to slow appreciation that might threaten export growth. The won retreated from its strongest level since September 2008 and Indonesia’s rupiah dropped from an almost four-year high. Regional currencies snapped a five-day rally as the Dollar Index, which tracks the greenback against the currencies of six major U.S. trading partners, rose the most in more than a week after Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke said policy makers need to monitor inflation expectations “extremely closely.” The Bloomberg-JPMorgan Asia Dollar Index, which tracks the region’s 10 most-traded currencies, dropped 0.1 percent to 117.62 as of 4:10 p.m. in Hong Kong. The won slid 0.3 percent to 1,090.15 per dollar, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The peso declined 0.1 percent to 43.36, according to prices from inter-dealer broker Tullett Prebon Plc. “There is concern some Asian central banks will intervene, halting recent gains,” said Hideki Hayashi, a global economist at Mizuho Securities Co. in Tokyo. “The dollar gets support from Bernanke’s comment, leading to a correction in Asian currencies.” Converting Dividends The won slid for the first time in six days after crude-oil futures in New York rose to the highest level in more than 30 months yesterday. “Traders are being cautious on concerns that the authorities may step in to curb the won from rising,” said Ko Kyu Youn, a currency dealer at Korea Exchange Bank in Seoul. “Foreign stock investors may buy dollars to repatriate their dividend earnings, while oil prices are rising and global stocks are mixed.” The peso declined as inflation in March was less than analysts estimated, reducing the need for another increase in the policy rate. Consumer prices rose 4.3 percent from a year earlier, matching the gain in February, the National Statistics Office said today. The median forecast of 16 economists in a Bloomberg News survey was for an increase of 4.6 percent. “The need to raise rates by a significant amount may not be there,” said Rafael Algarra, executive vice president and treasurer at Security Bank Corp. in Manila. “The feeling that there won’t be much pressure for higher interest rates will be negative for the peso.” Short-Term Inflows The Philippine central bank raised the rate paid to lenders for overnight deposits by a quarter of a percentage point to 4.25 percent on March 24, the first increase since August 2008. The ringgit retreated from near a 13-year high. So-called hot-money, or short-term, inflows could undermine the economic recovery and have an adverse impact on price stability and growth, Malaysia’s central bank said in its annual report on March 23. The currency traded at 3.0265 per dollar from 3.0255 yesterday, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. “We are going to see the ringgit sticking to current levels for a while,” said Nik M. Khairul, a treasury dealer at Asian Finance Bank Bhd. in Kuala Lumpur. “While the ringgit appreciation trend is still intact, authorities don’t want to see too much hot money.” Elsewhere, the Singapore dollar and the rupiah were both little changed against the greenback at S$1.2608 and 8,664, respectively. The baht gained 0.1 percent to 30.21. Onshore financial markets were closed in China, Taiwan and Hong Kong for a holiday. To contact the reporter on this story: Yumi Teso in Bangkok at yteso1@bloomberg.net To contact the editor responsible for this story: Sandy Hendry at shendry@bloomberg.net

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