Indonesian rupiah rises on improved risk appetite

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AFP, Tokyo :
The Indonesian rupiah rose Tuesday on renewed risk appetite as speculation strengthened that the Federal Reserve would delay raising rates following disappointing US economic data. The unit rose 1.8 percent to 14,233 per dollar after gaining as much as 2.2 percent earlier.
Expectations of continued US monetary easing, at least for now, were seen as bringing investors back to selected emerging markets. “Prospects for emerging-market assets are positive now. Currencies have bottomed out and it would be good for equities,” Ang Kok Heng, chief investment officer at Phillip Capital Management Bhd., told Bloomberg News. Against the dollar, the South Korean won firmed 0.52 percent from Monday afternoon.
But the Singapore dollar fell by 0.38 percent against the US unit while the Taiwan dollar edged down 0.12 percent.
The Indian rupee was nearly flat, while the Thai baht edged down 0.22 percent.
The dollar held its ground against major currencies, buying 120.45 yen in Tokyo — little changed from 120.46 yen in New York overnight. The euro stood at $1.1182 and 134.71 yen compared with $1.1187 and 134.77 yen in New York.
Poor US jobs data released on Friday has persuaded many Fed watchers that the US central bank will delay a plan to lift interest rates this year. The view has improved investors’ appetite for risk, boosting international equities and the greenback while keeping the yen under pressure. “The way the market is looking at the (US) payrolls numbers is weak enough to diminish the case for higher US rates, but not weak enough to point to a materially weaker economy,” Adam Cole, London-based head of global foreign-exchange strategy at Royal Bank of Canada, told Bloomberg News. “They’re positive for risk appetite.”
While selected emerging-market currencies rose, market optimism weighed on the yen, seen as a low-yielding “safe haven” unit to be favoured during times of financial uncertainty.
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