By Ronnie HaruiAsian currencies weakened against the U.S. dollar in morning Asian trade on Monday amid heightened fears over the Federal Reserve's tightening path after U.S. consumer inflation hit its highest level in more than four decades in May. The dollar climbed 0.4% to 134.89 yen after earlier touching Y134.99, the highest intraday level since October 1998, according to FactSet. The greenback was up 0.2% at 1.3906 Singapore dollars after hitting S$1.3916, the highest intraday level since May 19, and gained 0.3% to 4.4135 Malaysian ringgit, the highest intraday level since March 2020. Risk sentiment is likely to remain weak across Asia, given increasing global inflation fears and uncertainty over China's economic outlook owing to renewed Covid-19 mobility restrictions in Beijing and Shanghai, the MUFG analyst added. Last Thursday, Shanghai, which recently emerged from a two-month citywide lockdown, ordered more than half of its 25 million residents to undergo Covid-19 testing over the weekend.

Source: Wall Street Journal June 13, 2022 01:27 UTC