SINGAPORE: Most emerging Asian currencies gained on Monday as buyers returned to regional stock markets and as investors hoped that Group of 20 policymakers meeting later this week will be able to calm volatile global financial markets.

Indonesia’s rupiah advanced on bond inflows and South Korea’s won edged up on exporters’ month-end demand.

The Chinese yuan barely moved as the central bank kept holding the line.

Traders expected the currency to be stable until at least the end of G20 Shanghai finance ministers and central Bank governors meeting on Friday and Saturday, at which China’s foreign exchange policy is expected to be a key topic of conversation.

“Sluggish USD and calmer renminbi markets ahead of the G20 meeting should keep USD/Asia capped,” said Andy Ji, Asian currency strategist for Commonwealth Bank of Australia in Singapore.

Policymakers from the G20 rich countries also will discuss issues including China’s excess capacity, oil prices and global growth.

Most traders expect plenty of rhetoric but consider any collective action from the diverse group highly unlikely.

Emerging Asian currencies are unlikely to find strong support “to ignite a sizable appreciation from here”, Ji said, as investors awaited a series of February manufacturing surveys to check the health of global economy.

Growth in Japan’s manufacturing activity slowed sharply in February as new export orders contracted at the fastest pace in three years, a preliminary survey showed earlier, indicating global demand is deteriorating.

A sluggish global economy caused investors to stay sceptical over expectations that the US Federal Reserve may hurry to raise interest rates this year despite data showing US consumer price inflation accelerated in January by the most in more than four years.

The rupiah gained as most government bond prices rose.

The Indonesian currency pared some of earlier gains as local importers bought dollars for month-end payments.

Such corporate dollar demand is likely to cement a resistance area between 13,250 per dollar and 13,300, a Jakarta-based currency trader said.

Still, the trader expected the rupiah to stay on a firm trend, given the central bank’s dovish policy stance to support Southeast Asia’s largest economy.

“We will see more BI rate cuts in the future. The positive outlook for the economy in 2016 will attract more inflows,” the trader said.

Last week, Bank Indonesia cut its benchmark interest rate by 25 basis points to 7.0 percent - this year’s second trim - and it chopped a reserve requirement on rupiah deposits by 1 percentage point to 6.5 percent.

The won rose as South Korea’s exporters took its recent weakness as chances to buy the currency on dips for month-end settlements.

Caution also grew over possible intervention by the foreign exchange authorities to stem further weakness in the worst-performing Asian currency so far this year.

On Friday, the authorities were suspected to have sold around $2 billion to prop up the won, traders said.

Still, the won gave up most of earlier gains on concerns over a slowdown in the local economy.

South Korean exports shrank by one-sixth for the first 20 days of this month from a year earlier despite longer working days, data showed on Sunday.Reuters