KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 19 — As US recession fears ebb, Asian currencies soared to their highest levels in seven months with the ringgit seeing the most improvement.

The ringgit saw a 1.5 per cent jump to 4.3678 to the dollar, its best showing since February 2023. According to Bloomberg, the Bloomberg Asia Dollar Index went up by 0.6 per cent today, its highest since January this year.

Besides the ringgit, the South Korean won also saw a hike of 1.4 per cent to 1,332.25 with the yen also advancing 0.5 per cent to 146.84 to the dollar. Also seeing a hike was the Philippine peso, up 1 per cent to 56.67 per dollar.

Thailand’s easing political instability after Paetongtarn Shinawatra’s smooth installation as the new prime minister helped to boost the baht, that reached 34.48 per dollar, which is its highest since January.

Traders are currently waiting for Fed chair Jerome Powell’s speech later this week to gauge the likelihood of a rate cut.