Asian FX firm; Thai baht and Indonesian rupiah jump on investor optimism

Dec 23 (Reuters) – The Thai baht and Indonesian rupiah rose more than half a percent each on Thursday, buoyed by an optimistic view of the global economic outlook even as the world continues to grapple with uncertainty around the Omicron coronavirus variant.

Thailand’s baht firmed up to 33.57 per dollar, breaking a three-day losing streak and marking its best day in two weeks, while the Indonesian rupiah extended gains into a third session to hit its highest since Nov. 19.

The safe-haven dollar languished near an almost one-week low against its major peers as investors looked beyond the surging cases of the Omicron variant. The dollar index stood at 96.061, not far from its overnight low of 96.020.

Thai News