Asian currencies rose, led by South Korea’s won, after Japan said its economy expanded more than initially estimated in the third quarter and hiring picked up in Australia, brightening the outlook for regional growth. The Bloomberg-JPMorgan Asia Dollar Index rebounded from its lowest level in a week before a report tomorrow that may show China’s exports increased for a 12th month, according to a Bloomberg News survey. Eight of Asia’s 10 most-active currencies outside of Japan also gained on optimism tax cuts in the U.S. will spur demand for the region’s exports. “The relative tone for Asian currencies should remain supported,” said Enrico Tanuwidjaja, a Singapore-based economist at OSK-DMG Group. “Growth is likely to emanate from this part of the world.” The won climbed 0.6 percent to 1,139.40 per dollar in Seoul, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The Singapore dollar rose 0.2 percent to S$1.3119 as of 5:13 p.m. local time and the Philippine peso advanced 0.2 percent to 43.69. Japan’s gross domestic product grew at an annualized 4.5 percent pace in the last quarter, faster than the 3.9 percent previously reported, the Cabinet Office said today in Tokyo. Australian employers added 54,600 jobs in November, more than double the median 20,000 increase forecast in a Bloomberg survey of economists, government data showed today. Export Growth China’s exports climbed 23.6 percent from a year earlier, following 22.9 percent growth in October, a separate survey showed before data tomorrow. Taiwan’s shipments climbed 21.8 percent from a year earlier, compared with a 21.9 percent gain in October, the Ministry of Finance reported on Dec. 7. “U.S. tax cuts boost consumption, therefore demand for exports from Asia would benefit,” said Dariusz Kowalczyk, senior economist at Credit Agricole CIB in Hong Kong. The won was boosted by the lack of escalation in tensions with North Korea, Kowalczyk said. The currency fell 1.3 percent yesterday, snapping a five-day rally, after Yonhap News reported that North Korea fired artillery shells near the border. The South’s central bank left borrowing costs unchanged today, leaving the seven-day repurchase rate at 2.5 percent. The decision was forecast by all 10 economists in a Bloomberg survey. Governor Kim Choong Soo predicts Asia’s fourth-largest economy will expand about 4.5 percent in 2011, decelerating from a 6 percent pace this year, with inflation accelerating to 3.4 percent from 3 percent in 2010. The won gained 6.4 percent last quarter, the second-best performance among Asian currencies excluding the yen. Taiwan Intervention Taiwan’s dollar appreciated 0.5 percent to NT$30.555 against its U.S. counterpart, according to Taipei Forex Inc. The currency was about 2 percent stronger two minutes before the end of the trading session, before paring its gain on suspected intervention. The Central Bank of the Republic of China (Taiwan) bought the U.S. dollar almost every day since April to check appreciation in the local currency, according to traders familiar with the monetary authority’s operations who asked not to be identified because policy makers don’t usually disclose details of market operations. Elsewhere, Malaysia’s ringgit rose 0.1 percent to 3.1395 per dollar, Thailand’s baht gained 0.2 percent to 30.06, and Indonesia’s rupiah increased 0.1 percent to 9,018. To contact the reporters on this story: Lilian Karunungan in Singapore at lkarunungan@bloomberg.net. To contact the editor responsible for this story: Sandy Hendry at shendry@bloomberg.net.

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