The Indonesian rupiah led a decline in Asian currencies on Tuesday as the dollar firmed broadly, while the Malaysian ringgit suffered after Fitch cut the country's long-term local currency ratings. Asian stocks fell for a second straight session while the dollar firmed against a basket of currencies but stayed below a two-week high scaled on Monday after US jobs data last week fanned expectations for a US rate rise later this year.
RUPIAH: The Indonesian rupiah fell 0.8 percent to 10,090 per dollar, the second straight day of losses as investors took profits from the recent rally. The rupiah, Asia's best performer, was still up just over 9 percent against the dollar so far this year.
The six-month offshore dollar/rupiah non-deliverable forwards were flat from Monday at 10,410, implying a 3.3 percent rupiah fall compared to 3.9 percent on Monday. Six-month NDFs traded 45 points below onshore forwards, reversing from 25 points above onshore in the previous session.
RINGGIT: The Malaysian ringgit fell to 3.533 per dollar, down 0.8 percent from its interday high at 3.506, after Fitch cut the country's long-term local currency ratings to reflect the government's worsening fiscal position. "Dollar/ringgit jumped on the news," said a Kuala Lumper-based trader. Meanwhile, six-month offshore dollar/ringgit NDFs edged up to 3.536, implying a 0.1 percent ringgit fall from the spot compared to no change on Monday.
SINGAPORE DOLLAR: The Singapore dollar opened firmer at 1.4565 per US dollar but later dipped to 1.4648, a three-week low, amid talk of US dollar buying by a state-run agency. "There was some selling interest in US dollars this morning from those caught long US dollars, but rumours that a statutory board was buying to pay for their overseas acquisition push it up above 1.46," said a Singapore-based trader. The Singapore dollar has lost 1.8 percent against a broadly firmer US currency in the past week. "But US dollar/Singapore dollar needs to clear 1.4630-1.4640 to go higher," added the trader.
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