* Most Asian currencies decline * Singapore’s March core inflation rises 5% * Markets in Malaysia and Indonesia closed for holiday By Himanshi Akhand April 24 (Reuters) – South Korea’s won and Thailand’s baht led declines among Asian currencies on Monday, while stocks in the region were largely mixed as investors continued to remain cautious ahead of major central bank monetary policy decisions. The won, Asia’s worst performing currency so far this year, eased 0.4% and the baht declined 0.2%. Asian markets have largely been subdued for the past few weeks, with a lack of significant triggers keeping trading confined to narrow ranges. “FX is likely to remain range-bound in the near future as markets are in a period of consolidation ahead of major central bank policy decisions with the BOJ the first due this Friday,” analysts at Maybank wrote. The Bank of Japan’s policy meeting will mark the first meeting to be chaired by new Governor Kazuo Ueda. Ueda is widely expected to maintain the BOJ’s current ultra-easy policy, having reassured markets that any change in policy won’t happen quickly. Meanwhile, data released on Friday showed U.S. business activity gathered pace in April, pushing back against concerns about an impending recession. Markets will continue to focus on the U.S. Federal Reserve’s open market committee meeting next week, where policymakers are widely expected to raise rates by another 25 basis points. Back in Asia, Singapore’s dollar weakened 0.1%. Official data showed that the city-state’s key consumer price gauge rose 5% in March, slightly lower than forecast. Earlier this month, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) left its policy settings unchanged for the first time since April 2021, reflecting concerns about the growth outlook. “We expect to see inflation moderate in the coming months but the MAS may only consider adjusting its policy settings once inflation is close to or back to target,” analysts at ING wrote. MAS has projected a core inflation rate of between 3.5% to 4.5% in 2023, with headline inflation coming in at between 5.5% and 6.5%. Equities in Seoul fell 0.8%. An advance estimate of the country’s first-quarter gross domestic product (GDP) is due on Tuesday. Shares in Manila and New Delhi gained 0.9% and 0.1%, repectively, while markets in Indonesia and Malaysia were closed for the day. HIGHLIGHTS ** Indonesia’s ruling party endorsed provincial governor Ganjar Pranowo as its candidate for the presidency ** South Korea will voluntarily join a global stress test on banks, hoping to gain from a thorough analysis of risks they face on an international level ** Taiwan’s March industrial production due later today; prelim Q1 GDP due on Friday Asia stock indexes and currencies at 0417 GMT COUNTRY FX RIC FX FX INDE STOCKS STOCKS DAILY % YTD % X DAILY YTD % % Japan -0.17 -2.43 <.N2 0.22 9.70 25> China EC> India +0.01 +0.77 <.NS 0.12 -2.54 EI> Indonesi – +4.89 <.JK – -0.42 a SE> Malaysia – -0.79 <.KL – -4.91 SE> Philippi -0.14 -0.52 <.PS 0.88 0.17 nes I> S.Korea 11> Singapor -0.10 +0.31 <.ST -0.20 1.97 e I> Taiwan -0.04 +0.24 <.TW 0.04 10.41 II> Thailand -0.20 +0.26 <.SE 0.03 -6.58 TI> (Reporting by Himanshi Akhand in Bengaluru; Editing by Sonali Paul)
