RUPIAH - JAKARTA. The Indonesian rupiah continues to weaken in the spot market today. On Wednesday (April 17), the spot rupiah closed at a level of Rp 16,220 per US dollar.
This represents a depreciation of 0.28% compared to the previous day's closing level of Rp 16,176 per US dollar.
The rupiah's movement throughout the day remained weak. In fact, the rupiah reached its lowest point in four years, standing at Rp 16,265 per US dollar.
With this correction, the rupiah has depreciated by more than 5% so far this year. The rupiah has had a tough time in trading this week after the market reopened following the Lebaran 2024 holiday.
Indeed, in the first trading session after a week-long holiday, the rupiah plummeted by 2.3%. This marks the largest daily decline for the rupiah since March 2020.
Read Also: IDX Composite (IHSG) Falls 0.47% to 7,130 on Wednesday (17/4)
Bank Indonesia continues to intervene in the foreign exchange market to limit the rupiah's correction and ensure adequate supply and demand.
On the other hand, market participants are now considering the potential for interest rate hikes.
"We now forecast USD/IDR at Rp 16,200 per US dollar (previously Rp 15,850 per US dollar) over the next three months. Before slightly strengthening to Rp 15,650 per US dollar over 12 months to anticipate a decrease in US interest rates and ease tensions in the Middle East," said Lloyd Chan, a forex strategist at MUFG, as quoted by Reuters.
The rupiah's depreciation is in line with a number of currencies in the region. The Thai baht, for instance, is the currency with the deepest depreciation after plummeting nearly 1% and reaching its lowest level since October 10, 2023.
The same is true for the Philippine peso, which was seen to have fallen 0.6% and reached its worst level since November 2022.
