Market News

By John Biju and Sameer Manekar

• Summary

• Investor turn short on Singapore dollar first time in four months
• Bearish bets jump sharply across the board
• S.Korean won most shorted

Nov 14 (Reuters) - Investors sharply ramped up their short bets on Asian currencies and turned bearish on the Singapore dollar for the first time since early July on rising concerns that the U.S. President-elect Donald Trump's policies would erode the attractiveness of risk-sensitive emerging market assets.
Short bets emerged on the Singapore dollar for the first time in four months and were at their highest late June, while those on the South Korean won and the Taiwan dollar scaled six-month highs, a Reuters poll of 10 respondents showed on Thursday.

Trump's resounding victory in the U.S. presidential elections last week sent shock waves across the emerging markets since his policies of imposing tariffs on Chinese imports are seen fanning inflation which could mean a shallower-than-expected easing cycle in the United States.

The dollar has surged to a one-year high in a matter of days, pressuring the regional assets. Malaysian ringgit and the Thai baht have lost around 4% since the outcome of U.S. elections became clear last week. Their trade-reliant economies, particularly with China, make them vulnerable to tariff-related headwinds.