The Indian rupee opened at a record low on Wednesday and further weakening in Indonesia's embattled rupiah prompted central bank intervention as an overnight spike in oil prices weighed heavily on the currencies. The rupee and the rupiah are highly exposed to fluctuations in oil prices, because Indonesia and India import most of their oil requirements.
Oil prices were steady after hitting a four-year high on Tuesday. The rupiah's drop prompted the Bank of Indonesia to intervene in the local currency market, deputy governor Dody Budi Waluyo told Reuters. The rupiah lost as much as 0.3 percent and stood at a more than 20-year low of 15,090.
The rupee shed as much as 0.6 percent to the dollar and hit a record low of 73.390. A plunge in the rupee had also spurred mild central bank intervention last month.
Indonesia's finance minister said on Tuesday that the economy was adjusting "quite well" to higher US interest rates and the fall of the rupiah, asserting that many of its economic indicators were good.
Most other Asian currencies traded in a tight range on Wednesday in the absence of major cues.
Investors shied away from taking large positions ahead of crucial non-farm payroll data from the United States later this week, which is seen as foreshadowing the US Federal Reserve's policy tightening measures.
"There isn't really too much happening that's pushing volatility. There may be some concerns as to trade war impacts on Asia. We're still in a period of consolidation this week ahead of the non-farm payrolls," said Chang, Wei Liang, FX strategist at Mizuho Bank.
The Singapore dollar inched lower against the dollar. The currency is a stalwart for investors in times of volatility, and as such has held most of its value, unlike some of its peers.
A Reuters poll of economists found that the Singapore Monetary Authority is seen as likely to tighten policy again in October, albeit modestly, as policy makers worry about fallout from Sino-US trade tensions.
Such a tightening is expected to benefit the Singapore dollar.
The Taiwan dollar was largely flat, while the Thai baht and the Philippine peso edged up. Chinese markets have been closed all week for national holidays. South Korea's markets were also closed on Wednesday.