U.S. President Barack Obama decision to nominate Janet Yellen to replace Ben Bernanke when he steps down as chairman of the U.S. Federal Reserve next year didn't have much of an impact on Asian currencies in the immediate aftermath of the news, as it did little to reduce uncertainty about more pressing issues.
The Indonesia rupiah, the Indian rupee and the Malaysian ringgit, seen as the region's vulnerable and volatile currencies, fell against the dollar in early trading, and analysts said the currencies will likely mildly underperform their Asian peers.
"The likes of the Indonesia rupiah and the rupee will suffer today as the negativity starts to permeate into FX markets," Nick Verdi, currency strategist at Barclays said by phone, referring to various factors that have hurt sentiment recently but especially the current impasse in U.S. politics that has partially shut the government as well as a looming Oct. 17 deadline for raising the country's debt ceiling.
The rupiah was down 3% in afternoon trading, the worst performer in Asia so far in the day. The ringgit and rupee had erased earlier losses.
Source: LiveCharts
