The strong economic growth of the Asian countries spurred talks about future rate increases. These talks benefited the currencies of the region, including the Chinese yuan.China’s Manufacturing PMI rose from 52.2 to 53.4 in March, according to the China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing. The Bloomberg-JPMorgan Asia Dollar Index, tracking 10 most-traded Asian currencies, increased 0.6 percent this week to 117.61, the highest level since 1997. The MSCI Asia-Pacific Index added 0.8 percent from over the week.
Christy Tan, a foreign-exchange strategist at Bank of America-Merrill Lynch, described the reason for the strength of the Asian currencies:
Most central banks in Asia are still inclined to raise rates in the coming quarter. That’s supportive for Asian currencies.
USD/CNY closed at 6.5488 after opening at 6.5496 yesterday. EUR/CNY fell from 9.3231 to 9.3205.
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