EMERGING MARKETS-Thailand's baht, Malaysian ringgit hit multi-year highs; Singapore stocks at fresh peak

By Rajasik Mukherjee

Dec 23 (Reuters) - The Malaysian ringgit and Thailand's baht climbed to multi-year peaks against a frail U.S. dollar on Tuesday, leading gains in emerging Asian currencies, while financials helped Singapore stocks notch an all-time high.

The Thai baht THB=TH breached the 31.100 mark briefly, scaling 31.055 a dollar, its highest point since early June 2021.

Surging gold prices have driven the currency higher, which is counterproductive to the country's economic growth as a stronger baht reduces export and tourism revenue. The baht has risen more than 10% this year, making it the best performing currency in the region.

"This year has seen a relatively high correlation between the THB and gold prices, as reflected by their movements in the same direction and with similar magnitude," said Ratasak Piriyanont, senior vice-president, investment strategy at Bangkok-based Kasikorn Securities.

Gold has risen around 70% this year and hit multiple record highs, benefiting from a weaker dollar and U.S. interest rate cuts. GOL/ USD/

The Malaysian ringgit MYR=, the second-best performing Asian currency of this year with a near 10% gain, firmed slightly on Tuesday to touch its highest level since early March 2021.

Analysts at MUFG said in a note published earlier this month that they expected the ringgit to continue its positive run in 2026, aided by fiscal reforms and strong domestic demand, among others.

Elsewhere, Singapore's dollar SGD= inched 0.1% higher to its highest level since October 2, while the Philippine peso PHP= and the Indonesian rupiah IDR= traded largely flat.

The city-state's November inflation came in lower than expected, with the key consumer price gauge rising 1.2% from a year earlier.

Equities, on the other hand, traded largely mixed as investors refrained from making large bets in the holiday-curtailed week.

Singapore shares .STI scaled a fresh peak at 4,625.48, with the benchmark index resetting its record high for the third time this month.

Major lenders DBS Group DBSM.SI and OCBC OCBC.SI jumped to hit their lifetime highs and were the top drivers of gains in Singapore's benchmark index.

For the year, Singapore's FTSE Straits Times has risen 22%, on track to log its second consecutive annual gain, aided by heavyweight banks, as well as defence firm ST Engineering STEG.SI, which has soared nearly 80%.

Elsewhere in the region, tech-heavy equity indexes in South Korea .KS11 and Taiwan .TWII gained around 0.3% each, while Thai stocks .SETI rose 0.5%.

With festive mood setting in among investors, the market will await the U.S. GDP data, due later in the day.

The dollar index =USD eased a bit ahead of the data, and was last tracking a 9.5% decline for the year, likely its steepest annual fall since 2017.

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