The Indonesian rupiah yesterday recovered some of Tuesday's dramatic losses after the government confirmed that President Suharto was well enough to attend next week's Asean 30th anniversary celebrations in Kuala Lumpur.
Having dived almost 11 per cent on Tuesday to a historic low of 4,600 rupiah to the US dollar, it yesterday clawed back to 4,380 rupiah in late trade.
However, analysts warned it still looked very fragile.
Rumours continued to fly over the president's health, including talk at one stage of tightened security around the presidential palace. This was subsequently denied.
'There were rumours coming out of Europe of a military coup or demonstrations outside the palace,' said Ismail Ishak, market intelligence analyst at Independent Economic Analysis in Singapore.
With year-end markets thin and confidence weak, the rupiah has reacted to rumours with wild swings.
The grapevines have been working overtime since a weekend announcement that 76-year-old Mr Suharto needed a 10-day rest after a gruelling four-nation tour.