Asian forex: Rupiah gains among other units

The Indonesian rupiah weighed on the broader gains among Asian currencies on Tuesday ahead of a policy decision, which is likely to be a tight-rope walk between shielding the economy from the coronavirus and managing currency volatility.

The rupiah, a favourite among some investors adopting a carry trade strategy, suffered sharp losses in March and February. Yields on the benchmark 10-year bonds spiked during that time to a late-2018 peak.

Ahead of Tuesday's decision, the rupiah was little changed after dipping 0.3% earlier, with a Reuters poll showing that a small majority expect the benchmark policy rate to remain on hold.

Meanwhile, a weaker dollar helped support sentiment for riskier currencies after China's trade data painted a less gloomy picture than feared as the economy slowly gets back up and running.

The yuan advanced 0.1% to 7.046, while currencies of other trade-reliant economies like the South Korean won and Taiwan dollar gained 0.2% each. While exports and imports in China slowed their declines in March, a sure-footed recovery was still months away as global demand remains under severe pressure.

Markets in India were closed by a public holiday.