Asian currencies rose after Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke said the U.S. economy is still recovering from the global financial crisis, spurring bets there will be more asset purchases that boost the supply of dollars. Taiwan’s dollar snapped a three-day slide as China, the island’s biggest trading partner, unexpectedly reported a trade surplus for March. The Bloomberg-JPMorgan Asia Dollar Index (ADXY), which tracks the region’s 10 most-used currencies excluding the yen, climbed 0.05 percent and the MSCI Asia-Pacific Index of stocks snapped a four-day slide. The Fed has announced two rounds of asset purchases, a policy known as quantitative easing, to damp borrowing costs since 2008. “The market has shifted back to a view in favor of QE3 and that’s weakening bids for the dollar,� said Irene Cheung , a Singapore-based currency strategist at Australia & New Zealand Banking Group. “China’s latest data outperformed market expectations and should allay concerns about a deeper slowdown. It’s positive for risk assets.� Taiwan’s dollar climbed 0.2 percent to NT$29.512 as of 11:35 a.m. in Taipei, while Malaysia’s ringgit strengthened 0.1 percent to 3.0690, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Thailand’s baht rose 0.2 percent to 30.93 from its close on April 5, the last day of trading before a four-day break. South Korea’s won climbed 0.1 percent to 1,137.25. The U.S. economy is still “far from having fully recovered� from the effects of the global financial crisis, Bernanke said yesterday. A Labor Department report on April 6 showed hiring by American employers in March amounted to 120,000, trailing the most-pessimistic forecast in a Bloomberg survey. U.S. Policy The weak jobs data may underpin views that low interest rates will persist, DBS Group Holdings Ltd. said in a note to clients today. Asian currencies have rallied this year on expectations “the party will continue because the European Central Bank and the Fed will add to the punch bowl,� wrote Philip Wee, a senior currency economist in Singapore. The ringgit advanced before official data forecast to show exports rose 15.3 percent in February from a year earlier, following a 0.4 percent gain in January, according to Bloomberg survey. Industrial production probably increased 5 percent versus 0.2 percent in January. The government will report both data at noon today. “We are increasingly confident that electronics exports should see a decent recovery,� said Chua Hak Bin, an economist at Bank of America Merrill Lynch in Singapore. “That would be good for Malaysia’s exports and manufacturing and hold up the ringgit.� China Trade China’s yuan traded at 6.3077 per dollar in Shanghai, little changed from 6.3085 yesterday. Last month’s trade surplus was $5.35 billion, compared with the median forecast for a $3.15 billion deficit in a Bloomberg survey of economists, data showed today. Exports rose 8.9 percent from a year earlier, while imports increased 5.3 percent. Economic growth probably slowed to 8.4 percent last quarter from 9.2 percent in the final three months of 2011, a survey showed before figures due April 13. The won rebounded from a two-week low after an intelligence report showed North Korea may test a nuclear weapon after a planned missile launch between April 12 and 16. Financial markets are closed tomorrow in Seoul for a holiday. “Concerns over North Korea will prevent the won from strengthening, but with the holiday tomorrow, not many traders will be betting aggressively on a weaker won,� Kim Doo Hyun, a Seoul-based currency dealer at Korea Exchange Bank. Elsewhere, Indonesia’s rupiah dropped 0.3 percent to 9,175 per dollar, after earlier gaining as much as 1.5 percent. The Philippine peso was little changed at 42.78 as markets opened for the first time since April 4. Vietnam’s dong was also steady at 20,835. To contact the reporters on this story: David Yong in Singapore at dyong@bloomberg.net. To contact the editor responsible for this story: Sandy Hendry at shendry@bloomberg.net

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