Indonesia rupiah hits lowest in over 4-1/2 years despite rate hike

SINGAPORE: The Indonesian rupiah on Wednesday hit its weakest in more than four-and-a-half years as foreign banks sold the currency despite the central bank's surprise rate hike.

The rupiah fell as much as 0.7 percent to 11,670 per dollar, its weakest since March 2009. Local importers also bought the dollar for payments, putting more pressure on rupiah, traders said.

On Tuesday, Bank Indonesia raised its benchmark reference rate to 7.50 percent in an unexpected move to help shrink a worryingly large deficit in the current account.