SINGAPORE, Oct 20 — The Malaysian ringgit today led losses among emerging Asian currencies as a slowing Chinese economy hurt commodity prices and the dollar broadly stayed firm amid some expectations of further monetary stimulus from the European Central Bank.

China’s yuan edged up after the United States took a softer line in its calls for Beijing to allow the currency to appreciate.

The ringgit slid in subdued trading ahead of Malaysia’s 2016 budget due later this week. The Indonesian rupiah hit a near two-week low on corporate dollar demand for month-end payments.

The South Korean won fell as the dollar held firm against a basket of six major currencies with the euro around a 10-day low ahead of this week’s ECB meeting. The European Central Bank will extend its stimulus programme beyond September 2016, a Reuters poll of economists showed.

Asian stocks mostly slumped, putting pressure on regional currencies.

“The recent rebounds in emerging currencies and risky assets are seen mainly due to position adjustments. It does not mean that markets found bullish factors to buy them,” said Jeong My-young, Samsung Futures’ research head in Seoul.

“There are some hopes that additional liquidity from the ECB may partially offset higher US interest rates, but sluggish economies in China and developing countries will hurt appetite on risky assets.”

Most emerging Asian currencies have risen so far this month as investors unwound bearish bets with expectations of the Federal Reserve’s interest rate hike within this year waning after a series of weak US data.

Rupiah

The rupiah lost 0.8 per cent to 13,640 per dollar, its weakest since Oct. 8.

Most of Indonesia’s government bond prices also slid.

The official Jakarta Interbank Spot Dollar Rate, which the central bank introduced in 2013 to manage exchange rate fluctuations, was fixed at 13,634, weaker than 13,563 yesterday.

Ringgit

The ringgit fell as traders added dollar holdings in thin trading amid the greenback’s broad strength.

The Malaysian unit pared some of the earlier losses, tracking a slight retreat in the US currency.

Traders, however, hesitated to add bullish bets on the ringgit ahead of a 2016 budget plan on Friday.

Malaysia’s Prime Minister Najib Razak will present a budget that will look to shore up economic growth and appease voters unhappy with his leadership and rising living expenses.

“Obviously the struggling economy needs to be addressed but at what cost to the government’s plan to trim deficit?” said Stephen Innes, senior trader for FX broker OANDA in Singapore.

Won

The won slumped earlier as much as 1.2 per cent to 1,135.0 per dollar as traders rushed to cover short positions in the greenback.

The South Korean currency cut some of earlier losses as exporters bought it for settlements on dips around 1,130. — Reuters