Indonesian rupiah, Turkish lira up; US dollar steady

Indonesian rupiah, Turkish lira up; US dollar steady

Story link: Indonesian rupiah, Turkish lira up; US dollar steady

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The US dollar was steady on Tuesday on speculation as to whether or not the US Federal Reserve will again raise interest rates when it meets next. Also helping the dollar were strong reports on manufacturing and factory orders, was well as reports of low inventories which indicate that outputs have increased.

Still, the dollar was fractionally weaker against the euro at $1.1934 and sterling was up in relation to the dollar by around a half cent to $1.7616. The greenback was about level versus the yen as it traded at ¥114.24.

The Indonesian rupiah was up 0.1 percent to Rp10,185 after the central bank there raised the interest rate by 100 basis points to 11 percent; the bank had only been expected to raise the rate by 50 basis points. It also helped the rupiah when the deputy governor of the central bank said that the currency was presently undervalued.

Meanwhile, the Turkish lira stabilized on the news that the European Union and Turkey had begun scheduled talks on Turkey’s application for membership in the EU after delays caused by Austria’s demand that Turkey only be considered for less than full membership. The lira was trading at TL1.6126 versus the euro and at TL1.3480 in relation to the US dollar. Analysts said that further gains by the lira were possible now that the talks have begun as well as on the prospect of new capital inflows in collection with privatization efforts there.