Asian Currencies: Rupiah and Ringgit Fall, Won, Yen, Yuan Soar

The movement of Asian currencies against the United States (US) dollar tended to be divided in trading on Thursday (23/7/2026). The weakening of the US dollar in global markets has not been able to push all regional currencies into positive territory. Referring to Refinitiv data as of 09.15 Western Indonesia Time, of the 10 Asian currencies, five strengthened against the US dollar, while the other five weakened. The rupiah was one of the currencies still under pressure this morning. The Garuda currency weakened 0.20% to Rp17,910/US, apositionthatseestherupiahmovingbackabovetheRp17, 900/US mark. Pressure was also felt by the Thai baht, which weakened 0.06% to THB 33.77/US, followedbytheMalaysianringgitwhichcorrected0.05. The Philippine peso also edged down 0.02%, while the Vietnamese dong fell 0.01% to VND 26,315/US.Ontheotherhand, theSouthKoreanwonwasthesharpestgainerinAsia, surging0.67. The Taiwan dollar also strengthened solidly by 0.39% to TWD 32.254/US, whiletheSingaporedollarrose0.09. The Japanese yen strengthened 0.06% to JPY 163.05/US$, and the Chinese yuan rose 0.06% against the US dollar. Meanwhile, the US dollar index (DXY), which measures the greenback against six major world currencies, weakened 0.07% to 101.056 this morning. The US dollar eased slightly after recording gains in recent days. Previously, the greenback had risen as US-Iran tensions pushed oil prices higher and reignited inflation concerns. Oil prices briefly touched their highest level in about six weeks. US crude rose 2.93% to US$86.81 per barrel, while Brent strengthened 3.34% to US$94.05 per barrel. The rise in oil prices came as the market again worried about disruptions to global energy supplies. Tensions escalated after US President Donald Trump vowed to destroy any Iranian bridge or power plant if Iran fired on ships in the Strait of Hormuz. This statement marked the latest escalation after Houthi groups in Yemen, allied with Iran, threatened the vital energy route. However, the market also still sees room for diplomacy. A senior Iranian official told Reuters on Monday that mediators had proposed a 10-day ceasefire to Tehran. Juan Perez, director of trading at Monex USA in Washington, said the market is trying to read the chances of a resolution from a different perspective. ‘There are negotiations going on behind the scenes, so ultimately the market is trying to see it from a different angle, not necessarily more positive,’ Perez said, as quoted by Reuters. According to Perez, an escalation that is too large actually makes the market assess that there will be a quick effort to end the conflict. ‘Because in general the scale is so large and the escalation has gone too far, there will be an immediate effort to end it urgently. That is the narrative and it helps the market, and it is not a very positive thing for the dollar,’ he added. On the other hand, expectations for a US central bank (The Federal Reserve) interest rate hike are rising again in line with the increase in oil prices. Based on CME FedWatch, the market is now pricing in a 31.5% chance of a rate hike at the July meeting, up from 10.7% the previous week.