Markets

Indonesia rupiah races to 2-week high after fuel price hike

Published November 18, 2014 Updated November 18, 2014 04:05am

SINGAPORE: Indonesia's rupiah jumped to a two-week high on Tuesday, a day after the government raised subsidised fuel prices by more than 30 percent in a bid to free up funds and re-energise Southeast Asia's biggest economy.

The rupiah rose as much as 0.8 percent to 12,100 per dollar, its strongest since Nov 5. The currency pared some of the gains by 0111 GMT, fetching 12,145.

On Monday, President Joko Widodo announced the long-awaited measure, which is expected to save the government more than $8 billion next year.

Copyright Reuters, 2014