Asian currencies – from India to Philippines – were under pressure Tuesday morning even as the dollar moved slightly up.
The U.S. Dollar Index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of currencies, was up 0.03% to 95.13 at 11:30PM ET (GMT 03:30). The dollar lost some ground overnight against the euro and the pound sterling after hopes improved for a Brexit deal over the next few weeks.
The Japanese yen gave up some ground against the dollar, with USD/JPY up 0.29% to 111.44. Although U.S. President Donald Trump’s latest plan of adding tariff on a further $267 billion Chinese goods has not gotten an elaborated response from Beijing, the fear of the trade war still looms, and investors may go back to the safe haven currency yen.
The Indian rupee continued fall in Asia, tapping new lows against the dollar even as the greenback climbed. The rupee has lost about 12% this year. The USD/INR was down 0.14% to 72.485 having narrowed some losses.
The Philippine peso has also been losing ground against the dollar and is down more than 6% over the last year. The USD/PHP
USD/PHP
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 pair was trading down 0.03% to 53.891 on Tuesday morning. Franklin Templeton Investments expects the peso to fall past the 55 mark to the dollar hurt by increases in the price of oil and a central bank that has been reluctant to take significant action. The peso hit its weakest point in 13 years on Friday.
