Rupiah, Won, Rupee Bottoming?

Interesting article from Bloomberg. The biggest rout in Asian currencies since the crisis in 1997 is tempting investors to buy in the region that still enjoys the world’s fastest economic growth and $4 trillion of reserves.

Franklin Templeton Investments, which manages about $500 billion, favors the Malaysian ringgit and China’s yuan. Sydbank A/S, Denmark’s third-largest bank, is buying South Korean won, Indonesian rupiah and Indian rupee. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. said last week that the won, Asia’s worst-performer this year after falling 26 percent against the dollar, may gain 10 percent the next six months.

The won and the rupee strengthened last week after central banks in the U.S., China, South Korea, Japan and Taiwan cut interest rates. India unexpectedly lowered its benchmark rate to 7.5 percent from 8 percent on Nov. 1 to boost growth.

Korea’s won climbed 10 percent in the week, rebounding from a decade-low 1,495 per dollar on Oct. 28, while the rupee gained 1 percent to 49.4575 to the dollar. The rupiah closed at 10,975 per dollar, after touching a seven-year low of 11,900. The median estimates of analysts surveyed by Bloomberg show the won may rise to 1,250 by the end of March and the rupiah to 9,700.

The won rose 2.3 percent to 1,262 as of the 3 p.m. close in Seoul, while the rupee advanced 1.5 percent to 48.75.

“The Asian financial system is on a stronger footing,” said Hiroshi Morikawa, senior strategist in Tokyo at MU Investments Co., part of Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, Japan’s biggest listed bank, which manages about $14 billion. “That’s why Asia’s currencies have the potential to outperform.”

Click below to read more:

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601109&sid=atdRRdsT5s6E&refer=home

No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.