Foreigners sold Asian bonds in April amid firm dollar, Fed uncertainty

Foreign investors were net sellers of Asian bonds for a second straight month in April as a strong U.S. dollar and uncertainties around the Federal Reserve's interest rate cuts dampened appetite.

Investors net sold bonds worth $1.91 billion from Indonesia, India, Thailand, Malaysia and South Korea, although the disposals were was significantly lower than $4.69 billion in March.

The dollar index DXY rose to as high as 106.51 last month, a 5-1/2 month peak. It ended the month up 1.76%, its largest gain in three.

Foreign investors withdrew about $1.7 billion from Indonesian bonds, marking a third month of outflows amid the rupiah weakening to a four-year low, which prompted a surprise interest rate hike by Bank Indonesia.

Indian bonds also experienced a shift, with these investors pulling out $1.31 billion, halting a year-long buying streak.

In Thailand, the outflow continued for a fifth month, totaling about $881 million.

Conversely, South Korean and Malaysian bonds attracted $1.86 billion and $122 million worth of foreign capital, respectively.

However, the dollar has weakened this month after the Federal Reserve held interest rates steady, while a weaker than expected U.S. non-farm payrolls report and CPI data for April also tempered concerns about the U.S. economy overheating.

"While tensions in the Middle East have subsided and the U.S. Federal Reserve is still expected to reduce rates at some stage, the level of uncertainty is higher than normal," said Khoon Goh, head of Asia Research at ANZ.