Trump also said a major conflict with North Korea is possible in the stand-off over its nuclear and missile programs, although he said he would prefer to solve it diplomatically. He added that South Korea should pay for the Terminal High-Altitude Area Defence (THAAD) missile system now being deployed there to defend against a potential missile attack from North Korea.
"More than the North Korean provocation, I think it is more of Trump raising the pressure about rediscussing the deal that is driving the won. There is also speculation that China could impose new measures over the weekend because the THAAD is being deployed right now." said Tan Teck Leng, FX strategist for UBS Wealth Management in Singapore. Elsewhere, signs that the Euorpean Central Bank is not ready to scale back its stimulus programme did little to cheer traders in emerging Asia as it resulted in dollar buying to cover short positions, according to Leng.
The dollar index which track the movement of US dollar against a basket of six major rivals was up 0.1 pct at 0430 GMT. In Asia, the South Korean Won led the losses, shedding as much as 0.6 percent against the dollar. Indonesia's rupiah fell to a three-week low. The Thai baht was heading to post a monthly loss, breaking three months of gains.
The Indian rupee weakened against dollar, but was poised for fourth month of gains. The won lost for a second session amid renewed political tensions in the Korean Peninsula and after Trump challenged the trade deal between the United States and South Korea. According to a US Census Bureau data, the US goods trade deficit with South Korea has more than doubled since KORUS took effect in March 2012.
Fears of US trade protectionism was causing some weakness in the won, according to Chistopher Wong, senior FX strategist at Maybank. The won was on track to post a monthly fall, after gaining in the last three months. China's onshore yuan was up 0.1 percent against dollar on Friday, but was heading for a second straight month of losses.
The People's Bank of China set the midpoint rate at 6.8931 per dollar prior to market open, weaker than the previous fix 6.8896. A trader in Shanghai said traders were cautious of testing the 6.9 yuan per dollar level in case authorities stepped in to prop up the Chinese currency. On Thursday, a Chinese central bank official said that the country would continue to push for internationalization of the yuan currency. The offshore yuan firmed 0.1 percent against the dollar at 0508 GMT.
TAIWAN DOLLAR The Taiwan dollar edged lower despite strong GDP data that showed the export-driven economy grew for a fourth quarter in a row. The currency however was still on track to post fourth month of gains.
Copyright Reuters, 2017