SINGAPORE, July 2 ― Most emerging Asian currencies slid today on expectations that upcoming US economic data such as June jobs figures may cement expectations that the Federal Reserve will start raising interest rates as soon as September.

Malaysia's ringgit fell as overnight slides in crude prices renewed concerns over slowing exports of the country, a net oil exporter.

Those worries pushed the currency down to levels before Fitch Ratings on Wednesday maintained the country's sovereign rating and surprised markets by upgrading the outlook.

The South Korean won slumped after the country's current account surplus in May shrank to an eight-month low.

China's yuan skidded on strong corporate dollar demand and after the central bank set the official guidance rate at a three-week low.

Regional weakness came on growing expectations of strong US economic indicators, especially June nonfarm payrolls later in the day. The data is being announced a day earlier than usual because of the July 4 Independence Day holiday.

Nonfarm payrolls probably increased 230,000 last month after a robust 280,000 gain in May, a Reuters survey of economists showed. The jobless rate was forecast dipping one-tenth of a percentage point back to a seven-year low of 5.4 percent.

Ahead of the official data, the ADP National Employment Report yesterday showed private employers added 237,000 jobs in June, the biggest gain since December and ahead of the 218,000 forecast.

“If NFP surprises positively, markets may increase the September hike bet, then it would cause more downward pressure (on emerging Asian currencies) due to capital outflows from Asia and generally from EM,” said Amy Yuan Zhuang, a senior analyst at Nordea in Singapore.

Any major disappointments in the coming US figures may dampen the dollar and support emerging Asian currencies, but their rebounds are unlikely to last long, given Greece's festering crisis and turmoil in China's stock markets, she added.

Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras yesterday urged Greeks to reject an international bailout deal, souring hopes of any breakthrough before a referendum on Sunday that could determine his country's future in Europe.

Chinese stocks kept falling although regulators have announced a series of market stability measures since last week.

Ringgit  

The ringgit fell lost as much as 0.7 percent to 3.7770 per dollar.

The 10-year Malaysian government bond yield also rebounded.

But currency traders cut some of their bearish bets on the ringgit as analysts said it has a chart support level around 3.8000, the level at which Malaysia had fixed it to the dollar during the 1997/98 Asian financial crisis. The fixed currency regime lasted until July 2005.

Won   

The won slid as South Korea's current account surplus fell to a seasonally adjusted US$6.44 billion (RM24.34 billion) in May, the smallest in eight months, as exports slid.

The country also saw a net outflow of US$8.81 billion in May without seasonal adjustment, compared to a net outflow of US$10.06 billion in April, central bank data showed.

The won pared some of earlier losses as exporters chased it for settlement on dips, traders said. ― Reuters