Indonesia’s rupiah and Singapore’s dollar rose on speculation improving finances at U.S. banks will bolster demand for emerging-market assets. South Korea’s won slid for the first time in five days as recent gains prompted importers to pay bills. The rupiah was the biggest gainer among the 10 most-traded regional currencies outside Japan, Singapore’s dollar advanced for a third day and the Indian rupee rose to its highest this month, after JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Citigroup Inc. in the past two days said they were profitable in January and February. “We can expect dollar-Asians to trade lower due to better risk appetite,” said Emmanuel Ng, an economist at Oversea- Chinese Banking Corp. in Singapore. “The dollar was weaker against major currencies on improved risk appetite and dollar- Asians will follow.” The rupiah advanced 0.3 percent to 11,988 per dollar as of 3:15 p.m. in Jakarta, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The Singapore dollar climbed 0.3 percent to S$1.5333 and the rupee was up 0.3 percent at 51.725 after trading resumed following a two-day public holiday. The yen strengthened to 96.31 per dollar in Tokyo from 97.27 late yesterday in New York after a government report showed Japan’s economy shrank less than analysts expected, easing concern the recession will worsen. The Cabinet Office said gross domestic product contracted an annualized 12.1 percent in the three months ended Dec. 31, less than the 12.7 percent reported last month. The median estimate of economists surveyed by Bloomberg was for a 13.4 percent decline. ‘Capital Flows’ The rupiah, which has dropped 9 percent versus the dollar so far this year, strengthened this week as global funds bought more Indonesian shares than they sold in the last four trading days. Overseas investors added to their holdings of local-currency government bonds at a March 10 auction of 1.83 trillion rupiah ($153 million) of notes, according to Rully Nova, a currency trader and analyst at PT Bank Himpunan Saudara. “There are capital inflows to buy government bonds,” said Nova, who is based in Jakarta. “The gains in the rupiah are going to be short-lived. Dollar liquidity is still tight in Indonesia.” Taiwan’s currency rose 0.1 percent to NT$34.49 versus the greenback today in Taipei. Gains in the Taiwan dollar may be limited amid speculation policy makers will intervene to protect exporters. Central bank Governor Perng Fai-nan said today that order will be maintained in the market when there are trading irregularities. The currency has dropped 7 percent against the U.S. dollar in the past six months, compared with a 25 percent plunge in the won. No Rate Cut Korea’s currency slid 1.7 percent to 1,496.50 per dollar in Seoul. It added 3.6 percent this week, capping this year’s loss at 15 percent, as a rally in global stocks bolstered risk appetite. The Bank of Korea unexpectedly left its benchmark interest rate at a record-low 2 percent today, following six cuts since early October. Twelve of 15 economists surveyed by Bloomberg News before today’s decision forecast the bank would announce a reduction of at least a quarter of a percentage point to help the economy. Elsewhere, the Philippine peso rose as much as 0.6 percent before trading down 0.2 percent at 48.545 per dollar and China’s yuan and the Vietnamese dong were both little changed at 6.8384 and 17,484.50, respectively.

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