BENGALURU: The Indonesian rupiah touched a near 3-month low in otherwise muted Southeast Asian currency trade on Thursday while China’s latest move to inject liquidity to support ailing share prices helped to limit losses for range-bound equities in the region.
The Indonesian rupiah had slipped 0.6% by 0355 GMT to its lowest level since Nov. 3. The Singapore dollar and the Philippine peso were little changed.
Investor confidence in the rupiah has faltered amid concerns ahead of a presidential election on Feb. 14. The country’s central bank has intervened in the foreign exchange market to ensure a balance is maintained between supply and demand, a central bank official told Reuters.
The dollar was holding steady near a six-week high against a basket of key currencies, as market participants keenly awaited the release of fourth-quarter US gross domestic product figures later in the day and the personal consumption expenditure (PCE) price index on Friday to gauge the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy stance when it meets next week.
“We expect the USD to remain supported but near-term USD outlook is more balanced following a recent rebound,” analysts at Bank of Singapore said in a note, adding that the dollar’s latest gains would be seen more as a recalibration than as a new bullish trend.
In Asia, the MSCI’s index of emerging market (EM) equities, which captures large and mid-cap representation across 24 EM countries, rose 0.6% to a one-week high.
Stocks in Taipei and Kuala Lumpur advanced 0.6%, each, although shares in Manila and Singapore dipped more than 0.3%.
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