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* The Thai baht drops to a 15-month low * Virus cases in Indonesia, Thailand, and Malaysia are at an all-time high * Seoul stocks fall
Anushka Trivedi contributed to this article.
16 JULY (Reuters) – The Thai baht and the Indonesian rupiah led Asian currency losses on Friday, as the region’s stubbornly high COVID-19 cases clouded the likelihood for recovery in trade and tourism-dependent economies.
Both the baht and the rupiah fell 0.3 percent, with the former falling to a 15-month low. The peso, Singapore dollar, and ringgit all traded in a range of flat to lower.
During the Asian trading day, the dollar dropped marginally, capping losses in emerging currencies.
As heavily populated Southeast Asia continues to be affected hard by the pandemic despite a poor vaccination rate, Malaysia, Indonesia, and Thailand reported record coronavirus infections, while the Philippines discovered its first Delta variant case.

As trade-dependent Asia’s big cities like Seoul, Bangkok, and portions of Indonesia remain in lockdowns, “worries of a third or fourth (wave) in some of these nations may cause stricter restrictions pre-emptively,” said Maybank senior FX strategist Christopher Wong.
“If lockdowns and limitations are extended further, growth momentum, company confidence, and investor sentiment may be harmed. Due to risk aversion, the US dollar may be undervalued against Asia’s non-Japanese currencies right now “Added he.
Thai markets are especially shaky after the country’s central bank warned of missing yearly growth estimates because the country’s economy is primarily reliant on tourism, which analysts believe will not be recovered by October as planned by the government.
Over the last five weeks, the benchmark stock index has dropped about 4%, while the baht has shed more than 5% of its value.

Malaysian stocks fell 0.3 percent, while Seoul equities fell 0.6 percent, as the South Korean government prepared to tighten restrictions even more.
After 1,536 new COVID-19 cases were confirmed during the country’s largest epidemic yet, South Korea’s prime minister said that more restrictions on private gatherings may be necessary.
The Philippine market index rose 0.4 percent, seeking to recover from a 1.6 percent dip the day before.
HIGHLIGHTS

** Indonesian 10-year benchmark rates have fallen 1.2 basis points to 6.437 percent. ** PLDT Inc is the biggest index gainer in the Philippines, up 2.1 percent. Hartalega Holdings Bhd, down 2.8 percent, and Mr DIY Group M Bhd, down 2.6 percent, are among the top losers on the FTSE Bursa Malaysia Kl Index.
At 0352 GMT, Asian stock indices and currencies were trading.
INDEX STOCKS DAILY percent STOCKS YTD percent COUNTRY FX RIC FX DAILY percent FX YTD percent COUNTRY FX RIC FX DAILY percent FX YTD percent COUNTRY FX RIC FX DAILY percent FX YTD percent COUNTRY FX
-6.09 -0.78 2.24 Japan -0.07 -6.09
-0.06 +0.97 -0.02 2.61 China China China China China China China China China China China China China China China China China China China China China China
India +0.00 -1.98 0.00 13.89 India +0.00 -1.98 0.00 13.89 India +0.00 -1.98
Indonesia -0.28 -3.31 0.19 1.33 Indonesia -0.28 -3.31 0.19 1.33 Indonesia -0.28 -3
Malaysia +0.05 -4.26 -0.31 -6.83 Malaysia +0.05 -4.26 -0.31 -6.83 Malaysia +0.05 -4.26
Philippines -0.02 -4.29 0.44 -5.35 Philippines -0.02 -4.29 0.44 -5.35 Philippines -0.02 -4
S.Korea -0.01 -4.85 -0.55 13.73 S.Korea -0.01 -4.85 -0.55 S.Korea -0.01
+0.00 -2.48 0.19 10.63 Singapore +0.00 -2.48 0.19 10.63 Singapore +0.00 -2.48 0.
Taiwan -0.25 +1.86 -0.77 21.46 Taiwan -0.25 +1.86 -0.77 Taiwan -0.25 +1.86
Thailand -0.21 -8.46 0.02 8.48 Thailand -0.21 -8.46 0.02 8.48 Thailand -0.21 -8

(In Bengaluru, Anushka Trivedi reported; Kim Coghill edited)/nRead More

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