Majority of Asian Currencies Fall Against Dollar, While Rupiah Shows Strength
Asian currencies moved diversely against the US Dollar during trading on Wednesday (2<0xE2><0x80><0xAF> Sept 2026). According to Refinitiv data as of 09:20 WIB, out of ten monitored Asian currencies, six weakened against the US Dollar, while three strengthened and one remained stagnant.
The Rupiah was the currency with the sharpest appreciation in Asia this morning, gaining 0.12% to reach Rp17,829/US$. This strengthening of the Rupiah occurred ahead of the announcement of the results from the Bank Indonesia Board of Governors Meeting (RDG BI) scheduled for today. South Korea’s Won followed with a 0.10% increase, while the Malaysian Ringgit edged up by 0.02%.
On the other hand, the Thai Baht faced the deepest pressure, weakening by 0.24%. The Japanese Yen also saw a significant correction of 0.15%. The Philippine Peso weakened by 0.09%, followed by the Singapore Dollar, which fell by 0.07%. The Chinese Yuan and Taiwan Dollar corrected by 0.04% and 0.03%, respectively, while the Vietnamese Dong remained stagnant against the US Dollar.
Currency movements in Asia this morning continue to be heavily influenced by US Dollar dynamics. The US Dollar Index (DXY) was observed to strengthen by 0.06% to 100.662 as of 09:25 WIB. The DXY is hovering around its strongest level in the last two months. The US Dollar continues to find support from expectations that the US central bank (The Federal Reserve/The Fed) may raise interest rates again if inflationary pressures do not subside. Several Fed officials have opened the possibility of further tightening after the US central bank raised interest rates last week.
“Support for the dollar from the interest rate side appears quite resilient. However, the futures market has already priced in greater tightening than the Fed’s own projections, so the dollar now requires confirmation from data,” said Kieran Williams, head of Asia FX at Intouch Capital Markets, as quoted by Reuters.
Oil prices also remain a focus for the market. Brent crude is trading in the range of US$99.22 per barrel after previously breaching US$100. Hopes have emerged that diplomacy during the United Nations General Assembly could pave the way for a resolution to the conflict in the Middle East. The decline in oil prices from their peak has slightly eased inflation concerns, though the direction of the conflict remains uncertain, meaning markets have not yet fully abandoned the risk of rising energy prices.
“The good news is that oil prices have dropped slightly from their peak, but the next direction remains unclear as there is no certainty regarding a potential resolution to the conflict,” said Michael Wan, currency analyst at MUFG, as quoted by Reuters.
The Japanese Yen is also back in the spotlight. Markets remain cautious regarding the possibility of intervention after last week’s interest rate hike by the Bank of Japan (BOJ) was deemed insufficiently hawkish. While the BOJ did raise interest rates to their highest level in 31 years, the presence of split votes and the lack of a clear signal regarding the pace of the next hike has left the market doubting how aggressive the BOJ will be in tightening policy.