Popularity Is Now a Curse for Malaysia and Indonesia's Currencies
- Global funds own 36% of Malaysia’s bonds, 38% of Indonesia’s
- Ringgit, rupiah two most volatile Southeast Asian currencies
Ringgit, Rupiah Are Southeast Asia's Most Volatile
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The popularity of Malaysia’s ringgit and Indonesia’s rupiah among global investors has made them Southeast Asia’s most volatile currencies, just as the region heads for troubled waters.
Already reeling from a commodity slump, debt in the two nations is seen by strategists as the most vulnerable to concerns surrounding the U.S. presidential election and the Federal Reserve’s next interest-rate increase. One-month implied volatility in the ringgit, a measure of expected moves in the exchange rate used to price options, is the highest in Southeast Asia at 8.9 percent, while the rupiah is second at 7.3 percent.