Emerging Asia Currencies, Copper Gain on Global Stimulus Bets

Asia’s emerging-market currencies strengthened and copper advanced as signs of slowing growth in the U.S., China and Japan fanned speculation for more monetary stimulus in the world’s biggest economies. Gold climbed to the most expensive level since February.

South Korea’s won advanced against 15 of 16 major peers as of 12:52 p.m. in Tokyo and Thailand’s baht climbed to its strongest level in four months. Gold added 0.1 percent and copper climbed 0.4 percent. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index (MXAP) fell less than 0.1 percent after a 2.7 percent gain on Sept. 7 that marked its best performance of the year. Standard & Poor’s 500 Index futures declined 0.3 percent following the gauge’s biggest weekly advance in three months.

The MSCI Asia Pacific Index rallied 2.7 percent on Sept. 7, the most since Dec. 1, after European Central Bank President Mario Draghi said policy makers agreed to an unlimited bond-purchase program as they try to regain control of interest rates in the euro area.

China’s industrial output grew in August at the slowest rate since 2009 and imports dropped for the first time in seven months, while Japan’s economy expanded in the second quarter at half the pace initially estimated, according to data released yesterday and today. Employers in the U.S. added fewer jobs than economists forecast last month, adding pressure on the Federal Reserve to act to spur growth when they meet Sept. 12-13.

via – Bloomberg

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