New Zealand Dollar May Decline on Chance of Interest Rate Cut

By Anoop Agrawal

July 21 (Bloomberg) -- The following events and economic reports may influence trading in Asian currencies today.

Exchange rates are from the previous session.

Japanese yen: Financial markets are closed today for a public holiday.

The yen was at 106.93 per dollar at 8:02 a.m. in Sydney.

South Korea's won: The inflation rate will remain high for a ``significant period of time'' even as economic growth slows, central bank Governor Lee Seong Tae said July 18. The nation's current account for June may have achieved its first surplus in seven months, of ``almost certainly'' $1 billion, before probably narrowing in July, Ahn Byung Chan, director-general of Bank of Korea's international bureau, said the same day.

The won was at 1,013.80.

Hong Kong dollar: The annual pace of inflation quickened to 5.8 percent in June from 5.7 percent the previous month, economists estimated before a government report today at 4:15 p.m.

The local dollar was at HK$7.7980.

Taiwan dollar: The seasonally adjusted jobless rate was 3.90 percent in June versus 3.89 percent in May, according to the median estimate of 10 economists in a Bloomberg survey before the statistics bureau report tomorrow.

The Taiwan dollar was at NT$30.36.

Indian rupee: Foreign-currency reserves increased by $123 million to $308.5 billion in the week ended July 11, the central bank said July 18.

Inflation will moderate by the end of the year and economic growth may exceed 8 percent in the 12 months through March, Finance Minister Palaniappan Chidambaram told the Press Trust of India news agency July 18. India's fundamentals are strong, and Fitch Ratings' decision last week to cut the local debt outlook to negative isn't a cause for worry, he said.

The rupee was at 42.785.

To contact the reporter on this story: Anoop Agrawal in Mumbai at aagrawal8@bloomberg.net.