The won was among the stronger Asian currencies, with the USD/KRW pair dropping 0.3% after the Bank of Korea raised its benchmark rate by 25 basis points to 3.00%, its second straight hike

Asian currencies traded mixed on Thursday. The yen’s USD/JPY was little changed at 159.36 yen after Bank of Japan Deputy Governor Ryozo Himino said timely rate hikes could help avoid an inflation spike, while stopping short of explicitly signalling a September move.

The won was among the stronger Asian currencies, with the USD/KRW pair dropping 0.3% after the Bank of Korea raised its benchmark rate by 25 basis points to 3.00%, its second straight hike.

The central bank also raised its 2026 growth forecast to 3.3% from 2.6%, while keeping its inflation forecast at 2.7%.

The BOK signalled that further tightening was possible but would likely be gradual as policymakers assess the impact of the back-to-back increases. Its updated projections showed 3.25% as the most likely year-end rate, adding support to the won.

The Australian dollar’s AUD/USD pair gained 0.2% to $0.718, a day after hotter-than-expected domestic consumer inflation data revived bets of a Reserve Bank of Australia interest rate hike later this year.

The yuan’s onshore pair USD/CNY traded flat, while the Singapore dollar’s USD/SGD ticked down 0.1%.

The Indian rupee’s USD/INR pair added 0.2%.

The US Dollar Index was steady at 99.15 by 04:43 GMT, after rising 0.3% in the previous session.

Elsewhere, the U.S. personal consumption expenditures price index rose 3.7% year-on-year in July, unchanged from June but above the 3.6% forecast, while prices rose 0.2% month-on-month, also stronger than expected.

The data reinforced the case for the central bank to keep policy restrictive, with markets still pricing roughly a 60% chance of a rate hike next month, according to the CME FedWatch tool.

With U.S. inflation still elevated, foreign exchange markets are likely to remain sensitive to swings in Treasury yields and expectations for central bank policy.