Baht, won soar against yen as smaller Asian economies outperform

TOKYO — Asian currencies like the Thai baht and South Korean won have strengthened to their highest against the yen in years, thanks to higher interest rates and better economic fundamentals that stand in contrast to Japan’s decline.

The baht topped 4.18 yen at one point this month, its strongest against the Japanese currency since July 1997. The won climbed above 0.111 yen in July for the first time since June 2015. This comes after the Indonesian rupiah reached a nearly eight-year high last September.