SINGAPORE, Dec 5: Indonesia’s rupiah weakened past the psychological support line of 12,000 per dollar to hit a near five-year low on Thursday pressured by corporate dollar demand.
The Indian rupee, however, touched a five-week high of 61.52 to the greenback as exit polls predicted a strong showing for the key opposition party in state elections held since November.
The rupiah lost as much as 0.4 percent to 12,025, its weakest since March 2009, according to Thomson Reuters data.
The official Jakarta Interbank Spot Dollar Rate (JISDOR) , which the central bank launched in May in an effort to manage exchange rate fluctuations, was fixed at 12,018 rupiah per dollar, the weakest since JISDOR’s introduction.
The Indonesian currency weakened in non-deliverable forwards (NDFs) markets with one-month NDFs to the dollar at a near five-year low.
Spot rupiah recovered some of its losses as the central bank was spotted ‘heavily’ selling dollars to support the worst performing Asian currency of the year, traders said.
Still, its outlook remains bearish, they added.
‘It is better to long dollar at this level,’ said a Jakarta-based trader.
‘There is not much positive sentiment for the rupiah for now. It looks also a little bit difficult for BI to defend 12,000,’ the trader said, referring to Bank Indonesia.
The trader added that he does not have enough dollars to meet demand from corporate clients, which need to pay maturing debts and imports bills.
The rupiah may weaken to 12,150, the low of March 2009, and the next target is seen at 12,600, the low of 2008, analysts said.
It has lost almost 20 percent against the dollar so far this year.
Due to Indonesia’s current account deficit, the rupiah is regarded as the Asian currency most vulnerable to capital outflows once the U.S. Federal Reserve finally starts winding down a stimulus strategy that has fuelled dollar inflows to emerging markets.
Investors maintained expectations of a Fed policy shift on more signs that the U.S. Economy is gathering growth momentum.
U.S. Private-sector hiring rose in November at the fastest pace in a year, while the services industry expanded at a decent clip last month. October exports hit a record high.
RINGGIT
The Malaysia ringgit edged lower on concerns over the Fed’s eventual reduction of its bond-buying programme.
Some investors sold the ringgit for Singapore dollars, traders said.
The five-year Malaysian bond yield rose to 3.246 percent, its highest since Oct. 16, from Wednesday’s 3.209 percent.
(AGENCIES)
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