By Niyati Shetty
(Reuters) - Investors cut bearish bets on most Asian units and went long on the rupiah for the first time in nearly three months, a Reuters poll showed, as hopes of the U.S. Federal Reserve trimming interest rates weakened prospects for the greenback.
Despite a raft of strong U.S. economic data lately, concerns over the U.S.-China trade tensions and weak inflation have turned most Fed officials decidedly dovish. The central bank's first rate reduction in a decade is expected later this month.
An average of 14 analysts were bullish on the Indonesian rupiah
Bank Indonesia is due to announce its rate decision on Thursday, with the central bank widely expected to cut rates by 25 basis points to 5.75%.
Even though markets unwound some bearish bets on the South Korean won
Tensions between the two U.S. allies took a turn for the worse earlier this month after Tokyo restricted exports of high-tech materials to Seoul.
Bank of Korea on Thursday unexpectedly cut its policy interest rate for the first time in three years over concerns about the dispute amid a slowdown in the economy.
Responses for the poll came in before the central bank's decision.
Meanwhile, long positions on the Thai baht
Policymakers felt further appreciation of the baht would impact Thailand's exports and economic growth.
The Reuters survey is focused on what analysts believe are the current market positions in nine Asian emerging market currencies: the Chinese yuan, South Korean won, Singapore dollar
The poll uses estimates of net long or short positions on a scale of minus 3 to plus 3.
A score of plus 3 indicates the market is significantly long on U.S. dollars. The figures included positions held through non-deliverable forwards (NDFs).
(Reporting by Niyati Shetty in Bengaluru; editing by Gopakumar Warrier)
