Central bankers across Southeast Asia are trying to time rate cuts to ensure their currencies don’t collapse

As 2024 began, Fed watchers thought it was a matter of when, not if, the U.S. central bank would cut interest rates. Four months into the year, most aren’t quite so optimistic: The Federal Reserve now is signaling that it’s in no rush to cut rates, thanks to a more resilient than expected U.S. economy and “sticky” inflation.

But analysts and investors aren’t alone in trying to predict what the Fed will do: Central bankers around the world, including Asia, are also closely watching the Federal Reserve to gauge their own interest rate decisions—to cut, hold steady, or even to hike…