Rupiah Exchange Rate Today: Extending Downward Spiral on Tuesday
In line with most other Asia-Pacific currencies, the Indonesia rupiah exchange rate continued its depreciating trend against the US dollar on Tuesday morning (07/01). Market participants tend to avoid the rupiah and prefer to wait & see for international data first. For example, today's release of the minutes of the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC). This will inform about the stance of Federal Reserve officials on the winding down of the quantitative easing program (planned for this January).
The rupiah rate has now reached its lowest level since 2008 as market participants are concerned about the impact of the Fed tapering. This month, the Federal Reserve plans to reduce its monthly bond-buying program by USD $10 billion to a total of USD $75 billion. This is assumed to cause a foreign-currency shortage on the local market.
Based on the Bloomberg Dollar Index, the rupiah was down 0.65 percent to IDR 12,262 per US dollar at 12.00 noon, local Jakarta time. Bank Indonesia's Jakarta Interbank Spot Dollar Rate (JISDOR) fell 0.26 percent to IDR 12,262 per US dollar on Tuesday (07/01):
Indonesia Stock Exchange
Indonesia's benchmark stock index (known as the Jakarta Composite Index or IHSG) declined 0.36 percent to 4,187.87 points during the first trading session on Tuesday (07/01).