* Rupiah hits 7-month high, ringgit at 6-week peak * Fed easing expectations mount on softer US data * Jackson Hole symposium next week key to watch By Roushni Nair Aug 14 (Reuters) – Most Asian currencies jumped on Thursday, led by the Indonesian rupiah and Malaysian ringgit, as the U.S. dollar slipped to multi-week lows on mounting expectations the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates next month. The rupiah strengthened as much as 0.5% to a seven-month high of 16,105 per U.S. dollar, while the ringgit advanced as much as 0.4% to a level unseen in more than six weeks. The Taiwan dollar and Chinese yuan each gained 0.2%. The Philippine peso and South Korean won , however, lost more than 0.3% each. The dollar’s weakness came from increasingly dovish Federal Reserve signals as labour market indicators soften, and a lack of meaningful impact on inflationary pressures from President Donald Trump’s tariffs. Traders see a Fed rate cut on September 17 as a near certainty, according to LSEG data, with around 7% odds of a super-sized half-point reduction. “Most asset classes from bonds to equity to cryptocurrency to non-U.S. Dollar foreign exchange are rallying,” said Christopher Wong, currency strategist at OCBC. “This comes on the back of softer U.S. data – softer labour market in particular and that inflation report shows tariff impact is limited for now.” The U.S. dollar index eased slightly on Thursday after dropping 0.8% over the previous two sessions, hitting 97.626 on Wednesday for the first time since July 28. While the next Fed meeting is more than a month away, next week’s Jackson Hole symposium looms as a key event. Historically, the gathering has served as a platform for signalling shifts or reinforcing monetary policy directions. Back in Asia, Indonesia’s rupiah has steadied after plunging in March to its lowest level since June 1998. It currently trades about 1% below year-end levels. Jakarta stocks rose nearly 1%, advancing for a fifth straight session. Analysts say the rally is being driven by optimism surrounding Bank Indonesia’s recent rate cut and clarity on U.S. tariffs, with easing policy risks and attractive valuations helping the country stand out regionally. On Wednesday, Thailand’s central bank cut its key rate by 25 basis points – its fourth reduction in 10 months – to support a sluggish economy hit by negative inflation and U.S. tariff pressures. The Thai baht and Bangkok stocks were largely unchanged. Manila stocks and Shanghai shares each added more than 0.2%, while Singapore and Taiwan equities both fell over 0.4%. MSCI’s gauge of Asia-Pacific equities excluding Japan nudged higher to hover near its loftiest level since September 2021. HIGHLIGHTS: ** Chinese investors eyeing Indonesia to avoid US tariffs ** Bitcoin hits fresh record on Fed easing bets Asia stock indexes and currenc ies at 0359 GMT COUNTRY FX RIC FX FX INDE STOCK STOCK DAILY YTD X S S YTD % % DAILY % % Japan +0.57 +7.2 <.n2> China 7 EC> India +0.03 -2.0 <.ns ei=””> Indones +0.47 -0.1 <.jk ia=”” se=””> Malaysi +0.24 +6.5 <.kl a=”” se=””> Philipp -0.26 +2.3 <.ps i=”” ines=””> S.Korea 4 11> Singapo +0.02 +6.6 <.st i=”” re=””> Taiwan +0.07 +9.5 <.tw ii=””> Thailan -0.08 +6.1 <.se d=”” ti=””> (Reporting by Roushni Nair in Bengaluru; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu) .ps> .n2>
