Rupiah Exchange Rate Update: External Pressures Impact on the Indonesian Currency
The Indonesian rupiah exchange rate depreciated in August 2019. The currency started the month at the level of IDR 14,026 per US dollar, but ended the month at IDR 14,237 per US dollar (data taken from Bank Indonesia’s benchmark Jisdor rate). In other words, the rupiah weakened 1.50 percent against greenback in August 2019.
The biggest pressures were actually felt in the first 12 days of August (as can be seen in the graph below), with rupiah weakness peaking at IDR 14,344 per US dollar, while the rupiah stabilized in the remainder of the month. The pressures that were felt in the first half of August primarily came from abroad with US President Donald Trump announcing a fresh ten percent tariff on another USD $300 billion of Chinese goods per September 2019, effectively ending the cease-fire that had been agreed upon by both sides at the G-20 summit in July 2019.
Read the full article in the August 2019 edition of our monthly research report. You can purchase the report by sending an email to info@indonesia-investments.com or a WhatsApp message to the following number: +62(0)8788.410.6944
