Emerging Asian Currencies Rise on US Jobs; Market Waiting for FOMC Minutes
Most emerging currencies in Asia appreciated against the US dollar on Monday (07/04) as the 192,000 jobs that were added by US employers in March 2014 are believed to be too low to trigger an early interest rate hike by the US Federal Reserve. The new jobs data did not meet expectation, particularly after the strong US private jobs report. Meanwhile, trading in Asia was subdued as China's financial markets were closed (due to the Qingming Festival also known as Tomb Sweeping Day).
On Monday (07/04), the Indonesian rupiah exchange rate had appreciated 0.11 percent to IDR 11,304 per US dollar at 15:30 local Jakarta time based on the Bloomberg Dollar Index. The rupiah rose on demand from custodian banks as well as the sharp rise of Indonesia's benchmark stock index (+1.13 percent at 15:40 local Jakarta time).
Furthermore, global investors will be highly interested to see whether the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) minutes, which are expected to be released on Wednesday (09/04), are in line with Fed Chair Janet Yellen's comments last month. On 19 March 2014, Yellen stated that the quantitative easing program could be ended by the end of the year, followed by interest rates hikes. However, on 31 March 2014, Yellen said that the USA still needs the central bank's unprecedented monetary accommodation to curb unemployment and boost the US economy. This caused speculation that US interest rates may not rise as quickly as previously estimated.
Bank Indonesia's benchmark rupiah rate (Jakarta Interbank Spot Dollar Rate, abbreviated JISDOR) appreciated 0.24 percent to IDR 11,282 per US dollar on Monday (07/04):
So far this year, the rupiah has appreciated by 7.44 percent against the US dollar, thus being one of the best performing emerging currencies.
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