Dec 31 (Reuters) - Most Asian currencies were on course to end the second year of the pandemic on a negative note, with the Thai baht eyeing its worst year in two decades as the tourism-reliant economy remained under pressure from travel curbs.
The baht was the region's worst-performing currency this year, losing 11.4%.
The Taiwan dollar and China's yuan , the only two currencies in positive territory, were chasing an over 2% annual gain. The yuan, set for a second year of gains, was poised to become Asia's best performer.
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Trading at 6.3734 per dollar on Friday, the yuan was eyeing a 2.4% appreciation over the year on the back of strong trade surpluses and robust portfolio inflows despite overall strength in the U.S. dollar.
Analysts at Australia and New Zealand Banking Group (ANZ) forecast the yuan would remain resilient against the dollar next year despite the U.S. Federal Reserve's hiking cycle, and expect the currency to firm further to 6.30 per dollar by the end of 2022.
((See FACTBOX-Analysts' 2022 outlook for Chinese yuan read more ))
Elsewhere in Asia, the South Korean won , closed on Friday, lost 9.4% this year in its worst performance since 2008.
The Philippine peso , the Malaysian ringgit , and the Indian rupee were all set to weaken between 1% and 6%.
In India, the rupee was set for an annual drop of 1.7%, its fourth consecutive year in the red, while equities (.NSEI) were eyeing an about 25% jump in their best year since 2017, driven by an economic recovery from the pandemic-fuelled slump and massive liquidity.
Among other regional equities, Taiwan (.TWII) was set to add about 24% for the year, while Indonesia (.JKSE) and Singapore (.STI) advanced about 10%. The Malaysian bourse (.KLSE), the only outlier, was on track to lose about 6% in 2021.
On Friday, emerging Asian currencies were largely muted, with only the Indian rupee appreciating about 0.2%, while equities were largely lower as thin-volume trading spurred volatility, with worries regarding the Omicron variant remaining firmly in place.
"A sharp surge in Omicron cases across both the U.S. and Europe warn of a potential collision path with a hawkish Federal Reserve (in 2022)," analysts at Mizuho Bank said in a note.
"At the very least, this heightens the risks of policy uncertainty/volatility."
Markets in South Korea, Taiwan, and Thailand were closed for the year-end holiday.
HIGHLIGHTS:
** Indian 10-year benchmark yields rise to 6.486%
** Thai c.bank says financial system stable but debt poses risks read more
** Philippine shares (.PSI) decline nearly 3%; consumer and real estate firms lose the most
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Reporting by Sameer Manekar in Bengaluru; Editing by Devika Syamnath
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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Most Asian currencies set to end 2021 in red, yuan shines - Reuters
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