Emerging Currencies Post Record Monthly Advance as Stocks Rally
- Equities rally most since May 2009, led by commodity stocks
- Brent crude rebound spurs March rallies in ruble, ringgit
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Emerging-market currencies posted the strongest monthly rally on record as commodities rebounded and the dollar weakened on increased bets that the Federal Reserve will move slowly in raising U.S. interest rates.
An Bloomberg index tracking 20 exchange rates rose 6.3 percent in March, beating the previous record of 5.5 percent in February 1998. The MSCI Emerging Markets index added 0.3 percent on Thursday, pushing the equity benchmark’s monthly advance to 13 percent, the most since May 2009. A U.S. currency gauge posted its steepest monthly decline since 2010.