The new trading week started positively in Asia. After Wall Street had risen sharply on Friday (22/01) due to higher oil prices (particularly causing surging energy stocks), Asia extended the rally on Monday (25/01). In addition, investors are optimistic that the central bank of Japan will turn to more easing (the institution will conduct its monthly policy meeting later this week), while the European Central Bank had already hinted at further easing in last week's policy meeting.

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Again Asian stock markets went into deep red territory. Japan officially entered a bear market (the Nikkei 225 Index plunged 3.71 percent today), Singapore's benchmark Straits Times Index hit a more than four-year low after declining nearly 3 percent, while Philippine stocks dropped to a near-oversold level after falling 1.53 percent. At first Indonesia's benchmark Jakarta Composite Index managed to limit losses. However, towards the end of Wednesday's trading day pressure became too much, hence dropping 1.42 percent.

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Indonesia's exports of plastics and plastic products fell 18.5 percent year-on-year (y/y) in 2015 to USD $2.25 billion from USD $2.76 billion in the preceding year. This decline was caused by weak global demand for plastic, falling selling prices and the low competitiveness of Indonesia's plastics and plastic products. Also in terms of volume Indonesia's plastic exports declined. Based on the latest data from Indonesia's Trade Ministry, the nation's plastics export volume fell 5.58 percent (y/y) to 1.39 million tons last year.

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Although global media focus on the vicious terrorist attacks that occurred today in Jakarta, the country's central bank (Bank Indonesia) made a surprise move by cutting its key interest rate (BI rate) by 25 basis points to 7.50 percent at the January policy meeting. It is a surprise as Bank Indonesia emphasized repeatedly that it is primarily focused on rupiah stability while - amid severe market volatility (due to economic turmoil in China) - the rupiah remains under pressure.

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Asian stocks are again in deep red territory on Thursday (14/01), led by Chinese shares (which are on track to enter a bear market) as well as Japanese shares. It means that the rebound that had occurred earlier this week - caused by positive export data from China - was short-lived. The continued slide of oil prices (below USD $30 per barrel) and turmoil in China cause money to flow away from equity and fragile emerging market currencies.

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On Wednesday (13/01) Indonesia's central bank is set to start its monthly policy meeting. A novelty this year is that the monthly policy meetings of Bank Indonesia will take two days instead of one. Another interesting novelty is that Bank Indonesia invited Indonesia's Chief Economics Minister Darmin Nasution to attend the central bank's first policy meeting of 2016. Analyst opinions about whether Bank Indonesia has room to cut its relatively tight monetary policy are mixed.

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Penjualan secara besar-besaran terus berlangsung di Asia pada Senin (11/01). Indeks-indeks saham di Asia - yang dipimpin oleh Shanghai Composite Index Republik Rakyat Tingkok (RRT) - jatuh parah. Inflasi RRT yang teredam pada bulan Desember, Shanghai Composite Index yang terjun 5,33% hari ini, turunnya harga minyak, dan jatuhnya saham di Wall Street akhir pekan lalu (saham Amerika Serikat mengalami minggu terburuknya dalam empat tahun terakhir), membuat investor mencari aset yang aman (safe haven) seperti emas, yen Jepang dan dollar AS. Sementara itu, Indeks Harga Saham Gabungan (IHSG) Indonesia turun 1,78% menjadi 4.465,48 poin.

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Bank sentral Indonesia (Bank Indonesia) mengumumkan bahwa cadangan devisa negara ini telah meningkat tajam pada bulan Desember 2015. Pada akhir bulan terakhir tahun 2015 aset devisa tercatat sebesar 105,9 dollar Amerika Serikat (AS), naik dari 100,2 miliar dollar AS di bulan sebelumnya. Ini adalah hasil yang luar biasa karena ekonomi global dan domestik masih terganggu oleh ketidakpastian dan arus modal yang volatil (pada bulan Desember Federal Reserve akhirnya menaikkan Fed Fund Rate utamanya sebesar 25 poin basis).

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Saham dan mata uang di seluruh Asia berada di bawah tekanan berat pada hari Kamis (07/01) setelah bank sentral Republik Rakyat Tiongkok (RRT) menetapkan kurs yuan 0,51% lebih rendah (di 6.564,6 per dollar Amerika Serikat). Akibatnya, saham RRT anjlok lebih dari 7% (memicu mekanisme circuit-breaking baru - untuk hari kedua di minggu ini - 30 menit setelah perdagangan dibuka hari ini). Saham Asia juga lemah dikarenakan kerugian besar di Eropa dan di Wall Street semalam. Pasar bereaksi terhadap harga minyak yang turun ke level terendah dalam lebih dari tujuh tahun terakhir menjadi 33,97 dollar Amerika Serikat (AS) per barel.

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Meskipun kebanyakan pasar saham di Asia masih di wilayah merah, melanjutkan penurunan pada hari Senin, saham Indonesia dan rupiah berhasil melambung pada Selasa (5/1). Indeks Harga Saham Gabungan (IHSG) naik 0,70% menjadi 4.557,82 poin. Sementara itu, rupiah Indonesia naik 0,37% menjadi Rp 13.892 per dollar Amerika Serikat (Bloomberg Dollar Index). Apa yang terjadi pada perdagangan hari ini dan mengapa ada perbedaan antara aset Indonesia dan tren Asian secara umum?

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A draft law that would amend Law Number 4 of Year 2023 on the Development and Strengthening of the Financial Sector (henceforth: RUU No. 4/2023 P2SK) is currently being discussed by Indonesia's House of Representatives (DPR) and cabinet. If approved, this law would somewhat change the role and power of the central bank (Bank Indonesia).

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The reason why we frequently discuss Indonesia’s financial markets (especially the stock and money markets) in our monthly reports is because these markets reflect the degree of confidence there exists among domestic and foreign investors (which involves individuals as well as the big corporations) in global political and economic conditions and in the economic and fiscal fundamentals of Indonesia.

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In essence, the Indonesian rupiah showed the same performance in 2024 as it did in the previous four years, namely it continued to weaken against the US dollar, albeit (the outlook for) interest cuts in the United States did cause a sharp, yet temporary, rebound in August 2024. Shortly after that rebound, the rupiah came under heavy pressures again, which continued into the last month of 2024.

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There was some confusion about the government’s plan to raise the value-added tax (VAT) rate from 11 percent to 12 percent. Based on Law Number 7 of Year 2021 on Harmonization of Tax Regulations (specifically in Article 7), a one percentage point VAT hike from 10 to 11 percent materialized on 1 April 2022. That law also ordered for another one percentage point hike (to 12 percent) on 1 January 2025, the latest.

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For Indonesia’s currency and stock markets, November 2024 was not a good month. We saw some rupiah depreciation reappearing (against the US dollar) and a falling benchmark stock index (Jakarta Composite Index, or IHSG). What this means is that market participants are nervous. And in times of nervousness, Indonesian assets are typically the first victim as participants seek safe haven assets. 

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As expected, Bank Indonesia cut the benchmark interest rate at its monetary policy meeting on 17-18 September 2024. The BI rate was cut by 25 basis points (bps) to 6.00 percent, while also lowering the deposit facility and lending facility rates by 25 bps to 5.25 percent and 6.75 percent, respectively.

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When global markets became really confident that the US Federal Reserve would cut its benchmark interest rate in September 2024, there occurred a sort of relief rally that is visible in Chart A below. Amid the increase in risk appetite, Indonesian stocks and the rupiah rate strengthened. Chart A shows that this rally started in late-July or early August 2024.

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Over the past month, expectations of a looming interest rate cut in the United States (US) have only grown. The US Federal Reserve is widely expected to start cutting its benchmark interest rate at its policy meeting scheduled for 17-18 September 2024. In fact, the question seems to be whether it’ll be a 0.25 or 0.50 percentage point cut.

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It is very interesting to take a quick look at the conclusions drawn at the latest US Federal Reserve meeting (held on 30-31 July 2024), as these conclusions have a big impact on global financial markets, including the Indonesian rupiah rate (and even on monetary policy of Indonesia’s central bank, Bank Indonesia).

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As usual, we are going to take a look at the US Federal Reserve’s monetary policy as policy changes in the United States (or market perceptions about approaching policy changes) impact on the Indonesian rupiah rate as well as on monetary policy that is set by Indonesia’s central bank (Bank Indonesia).

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