The Indonesian rupiah hit its highest level in nearly two weeks on Tuesday as investors bought back riskier, high-yielding currencies, with the Philippine peso also in demand and China's yuan hitting a post-revaluation high.
The rupiah pulled back to 8,930 per dollar in late trade in a technical correction after rising as far as 8,865 per dollar, its highest level since June 7. It has the potential to rise further, analysts and traders said.
Irene Cheung, a currency strategist at ABN Amro, expected Indonesia's central bank to tolerate a stronger rupiah to help check inflation, paving the way for further interest rate cuts. "We see a possible move of dollar/rupiah toward last month's low of 8,670," she said in research note.
Indonesia's central bank expects the rupiah to strengthen, Deputy Governor Aslim Tadjuddin said on Tuesday, without specifying any level. Tadjuddin also said the monetary authority would try to avoid sharp volatility in the currency, which has gained about 0.7 percent against the dollar since the start of the year.
The rupiah remains one of the worst performing currencies in Asia after the Japanese yen and the Taiwan dollar. The US dollar was steady against the euro on Tuesday and held near a 4-1/2-year peak against the Japanese yen. The yield on benchmark 10-year US Treasuries was steady around 5.142 percent in Asia on Tuesday, little changed from 5.138 percent in late New York trade. The yield has pulled back from a five-year peak above 5.3 percent last week.
The Philippine peso ended at about 46 per dollar after rising as far as 45.83. Sean Callow, a currency strategist at Westpac, said in a note to clients that he expected the peso to appreciate further, supported by the country's solid capital inflows.
"We are wary of fresh Asian FX longs at the moment, currently only inclined towards the yuan. But for those more convinced than we are that it is already safe to load up on risk again, short dollar/peso 3-month NDFs must be tempting," he said.
The 3-month peso NDF (non-deliverable forwards) was quoted around 45.90 per dollar on Tuesday. Changes to how the IMF monitors members' currencies announced on Monday have put the spotlight back on global economic imbalances and specifically on the trade gap between the United States and China.
The yuan hit a post-revaluation high of 7.6188 per dollar on Tuesday. Its appreciation has accelerated in recent weeks as the United States has kept up pressure on China to allow the yuan to rise faster to help cut the huge trade gap.