EM Currencies Extend Slump as Markets Brace for Rate Decisions

  • Anticipation over Fed, BOJ are drag on Latam currencies
  • MSCI equity benchmark gains, rebounding from selloff Friday

Traders and visitors at the Khan el-Khalili bazaar in Cairo.

Photographer: Jeremy Suyker/Bloomberg
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Emerging-markets currencies dropped for a fifth straight day, extending the longest losing streak since November as traders prepare for a barrage of monetary policy decisions.

The MSCI index of developing-world currencies fell as much as 0.2% before closing down 0.1% ahead of the Bank of Japan’s rate decision on Tuesday, in which the country could opt for tightening monetary policy for the first time in over a decade. If they do, markets will be turning to the yen as a new safe haven apart from the US dollar, said Juan Pérez, director of trading at Monex USA.