Indonesia’s rupiah advanced for a fourth day as regional stocks rallied on rising commodity prices and after China pledged to increase imports.
The currency traded near a seven-year high as the MSCI Asia-Pacific Index of regional shares rose the most in more than a week. The rupiah has strengthened 5.1 percent this year as overseas investors bought $1.8 billion more local equities than they sold.
China said yesterday it will seek to boost consumer spending and increase imports, according to a statement released following the annual Strategic and Economic Dialogue with U.S. officials.
The stocks “gained on earnings and the commodities rally and that’s helping to boost sentiment,” said Joanna Tan, a Singapore-based regional economist at Forecast Singapore Pte.
“We also saw the euro strengthening, and that means a weaker dollar, which leads to a stronger rupiah.”
The rupiah rose 0.1 percent to 8,544 against the dollar as of 8:46 a.m. in Jakarta, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. It reached 8,543 earlier, the strongest since May 3.
Overseas investors raised holdings of Indonesia’s debt by 13 percent this year to 220.8 trillion rupiah ($25.8 billion) as of May 9, according to data from the Debt Management Office.
