04:39 AM EDT, 05/15/2024 (MT Newswires) -- Asian currencies rallied on Wednesday, led by the renminbi, following a media report suggesting the Chinese government is considering large-scale action to prop up the struggling residential property sector.

USD/CNH was trading 0.25% lower at 7.2225 after Bloomberg News reported that China's government is considering buying up millions of unsold residential properties at a discount and converting them into affordable housing units.

The plan would be carried out by local governments and intended to support the struggling property sector but could also help to address the social challenges created by a lack of affordable housing in parts of the country.

"However, the reports have not been confirmed so it is unclear if the purchases will go ahead," said Kristina Clifton, a senior economist and currency strategist at Commonwealth Bank of Australia.

The renminbi rallied to its biggest intraday gain since May 3 in the wake of the report while other Asian currencies also climbed heading into the European open, despite widespread losses for stock markets and risky assets across the Asia Pacific.

Wednesday's Asian FX rally also lifted European currencies ahead of the continental open and led to widespread declines for the US dollar, which was trading lower against all G20 currencies at the time of writing.

The Japanese yen was a notable gainer after USD/JPY was quoted 0.40% lower at 155.89 but the Korean won and Indonesian rupiah both notched larger gains with USD/KRW falling 0.51% to 1356.5 and USD/IDR dropping 0.67% to 15980.9.