ET:Rupee pares initial losses; most Asian forex firm
SINGAPORE: Most emerging Asian currencies edged up on Thursday, helped by the euro's strength, but many investors stayed wary ahead of key US economic data for clues on when the Federal Reserve will scale back its stimulus.
Investors are also keeping an eye on a policy meeting of the European Central Bank later in the day.
The Philippine peso rose on demand from local interbank speculators. The Indonesian rupiah advanced on exporters.
India's rupee, however, eased on a Standard & Poor's report about a possible ratings downgrade next year if the new government failed to push economic growth. The rupee pared some initial losses with intervention spotted.
The partial convertible rupee was trading at 62.57/dollar, after hitting a intra-day low of 62.73/dollar.
The Indian currency will struggle to gain any ground in the next 12 months due to uncertainty around elections, the country's external deficit and the impact of a possible tapering in the Fed's stimulus programme, a Reuters poll showed.
Investors already scaled back bullish bets on emerging Asian currencies in the last two weeks on caution over the timing of the U.S. central bank's policy shift, according to a separate Reuters survey.