The Philippine peso and Indonesian rupiah led a moderate rise in Asian currencies on Tuesday with the dollar held down by uncertainty over how the United States will revive its economy. The dollar hovered near a five-week low and oil eased as traders positioned for a Federal Reserve policy meeting later in the day that may discuss whether the fragile US economy needs fresh stimulus.
Dollar/peso NDFs were bid up across the curve with the short-end attracting most buying interest and investors focusing on arbitraging wider gaps of spot and forward rates. The peso was buoyed by the market's risk appetite and yuan's new post-revaluation high mid-point.
The liquid three-month dollar/peso NDFs rose to 44.32, some 32 points higher than the spot and implying a 0.7 percent peso fall from the spot. The Indonesian rupiah inched up 0.12 percent to 8,965 per dollar in morning trade on increased inflows ahead of the monthly government bond auction later on Tuesday. The Thai baht eased a tad to around 30.76-77 per dollar while Asian peers rose marginally. Dollar/baht was bid at 30.75 against 30.73 late on Monday. The baht has appreciated 2.4 percent in the past month and 8.4 percent this year, the third-best Asian performer after the ringgit and yen.