Asian currencies have been on a tear higher, with those of Thailand and India amongst the strongest
So much so that its thought both countries are selling currencies against the USD to stem the gains. Which may land them on the US 'currency manipulation watch list.
While the U.S. hasn't branded any country a manipulator since 1994, meeting two of the following three criteria will get you on the monitoring list:
- A trade surplus with the U.S. of $20 billion or more
- A current-account excess of at least 3 percent of gross domestic product
- Net buying of foreign currencies amounting to at least 2 percent of GDP over a 12-month period
"Thailand and India have been two exceptions, which have been actively accumulating reserves to stem appreciation pressure on their currencies," said Khoon Goh, head of research at ANZ in Singapore.
