0517 GMT - SMBC now sees a "firm-to-stronger" U.S. dollar against Asian currencies in 2H, says Jeff Ng, head of Asia macro strategy, in a research report. "Market expectations have now shifted" toward a potential Fed rate increase, Ng says. The Fed at its June FOMC meeting turned hawkish, confirming SMBC's expectations that the Fed will have to focus on combating inflation. SMBC sees the Singapore dollar potentially weakening against its U.S. counterpart even as it stays strong on a Singapore dollar nominal effective exchange rate basis. Also, this trend will probably mean another round of headwinds for the Indian rupee, Philippine peso and Indonesian rupiah. Moreover, the Malaysian ringgit, Korean won and Thai baht will likely "suffer" from widening yield differential pressures, Ng adds. (ronnie.harui@wsj.com)

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

June 19, 2026 01:17 ET (05:17 GMT)

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