The Today's Headlines section of Indonesia Investments is a regularly updated section which contains the latest information with regard to topics that are currently causing headlines in Indonesia's media. Most of our headlines cover political, economic and social matters. As a consequence of their recent nature, these topics may not have crystallized fully yet and can, therefore, lack a profound analysis. For publications with a more in-depth understanding of subjects, we refer you to our News, Financial or Business columns.
The price of rubber rebounded on Tuesday morning (25/07), in line with the strengthening of crude oil prices. The rubber price (December 2017 delivery, the most-active contract on the Tokyo Commodity Exchange), had risen 2.05 percent to 213.60 yen per kilogram (kg) by 10:05 am local Jakarta time, while earlier this morning, rubber prices had in fact fallen 0.62 percent directly after the opening of trade.
The coal price weakened at the end of trading on Monday (24/07). Coal futures (January 2018 contracts, the most active contract on the Rotterdam commodities exchange), fell 1.84 percent to USD $72.38 per metric ton on Monday, reversing from their performance on the preceding trading session (Friday 21/07) when coal prices rose 0.45 percent to USD $73.74 per metric ton.
Indonesian steel manufacturers urge the Indonesian government to improve the monitoring of steel trade as rising steel imports undermine the performance of domestic steel producers. Hidayat Triseputro, Executive Director of the Indonesian Iron and Steel Industry Association (IISIA), said domestic steel production capacity is indeed not enough to meet domestic steel demand. However, importers are currently taking advantage of the import policies, and this comes at the expense of expansion of the domestic steel industry.
The crude palm oil (CPO) price continues to decline, falling more than 1 percent on Monday morning (24/07). The CPO futures contract (October 2017 delivery), the most active contract on the Bursa Malaysia, had shed 1.05 percent or 27 points to 2,546 ringgit per ton by 11:20 am local Jakarta time.
