Indonesia’s foreign exchange reserves fell USD $2.8 billion to USD $108.0 billion at the end of June 2015 (from USD $110.8 billion one month earlier). This fall was caused by foreign debt repayment and the use of foreign exchange to stabilize the rupiah exchange rate. Due to external pressures (particularly looming further monetary tightening in the USA this year and the possible Greek exit from the euro), the rupiah is the worst performing Asian currency tracked by Bloomberg so far in 2015, weakening about 7 percent against the US dollar.

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Agus Martowardojo, Governor of Indonesia’s central bank (Bank Indonesia), predicts that the current economic turmoil in the Eurozone, caused by the Greek debt crisis, will impact on the stability of developing countries, including Indonesia. Although in terms of both trade and investment there should not be a real impact originating from Greek turmoil, the perception of macroeconomic stability will be somewhat hit on the back of global uncertainty. In line with most markets, Indonesian stocks and the rupiah weakened on Monday (06/07).

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Seperti yang telah diprediksi saham-saham Indonesia dan juga rupiah melemah pada pembukaan perdagangan di hari Senin pagi (06/07). Performa ini sejalan dengan arah pasar-pasar lain di Asia. Alasan utama di balik performa ini adalah hasil dari referendum Yunani, diadakan pada hari Minggu (05/07), yang menunjukkan bahwa para pemilih Yunani sangat menolak rencana-rencana reformasi yang dituntut oleh para kreditor internasionalnya. Ini secara serius membahayakan masa depan Yunani di zona euro.

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Pada 1 Juli 2015, Peraturan Bank Indonesia No. 17/3/PBI/2015 tentang Kewajiban Penggunaan Rupiah di Negara Kesatuan Republik Indonesia mulai berlaku. Peraturan BI ini, ditandatangani pada 31 Maret 2015, melarang penggunaan mata uang asing dalam transaksi di Indonesia dalam rangka memperdalam pasar domestik rupiah, menstabilkan rupiah (yang telah melemah terhadap dollar AS), dan mendorong ekspansi perekonomian. Undang-Undang sebelumnya (UU No. 7/2011) mengizinkan pihak-pihak yang terlibat dalam kontrak untuk membuat kesepakatan menggunakan mata uang lainnya (bukan rupiah) untuk pembayaran.

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Eric Sugandi, Chief Economist dari Standard Chartered Bank, memprediksi bahwa rupiah akan melemah menjadi Rp 13.900 per dollar Amerika Serikat (AS) pada akhir tahun ini dari Rp 13.339 pada hari ini (29/06) karena dampak dari momentum bullish dollar AS menjelang pengetatan moneter di AS dan ancaman keluarnya Yunani dari zona euro. Sebenarnya, ini adalah prognosa konservatif. Apabila bank sentral Indonesia tidak meningkatkan suku bunga acuannya (BI rate), sekarang pada 7,50%, tekanan terhadap rupiah mungkin akan meningkat nyata secara lebih lanjut.

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Meskipun Indonesia dianggap sebagai salah satu perekonomian Asia yang sangat rentah terhadap keluarnya Yunani dari zona euro (Greek exit/Grexit), saham dan rupiah Indonesia tidak melemah sebanyak aset-aset pasar negara berkembang lainnya pada hari Senin (29/06), hari perdagangan pertama setelah hancurnya pembicaraan antara Yunani, yang dibebani banyak hutang, dengan para kreditor internasionalnya. Indeks Harga Saham Gabungan (IHSG) jatuh 0,82% menjadi 4.882,59 poin sementara rupiah melemah 0,24% menjadi Rp 13.339 per dollar AS (Indeks Bloomberg).

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Saham Indonesia diprediksi merasakan tekanan turun yang berat pada hari Senin (29/06) karena pembicaraan yang terhenti antara Yunani yang terbeban hutang dengan para kreditor internasionalnya. Transaksi Indeks Harga Saham Gabungan (IHSG) masih belum dibuka namun pasar-pasar Asia yang lain segera jatuh setelah pembukaan. Indeks Nikkei 225 dari Jepang turun 2,28% sementara yen menguat (para investor sedang mengejar aset-aset yang aman), sementara KOSPI dari Korea Selatan jatuh 1,5%. Nilai euro sangat menurun dalam perdagangan Asia.

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Most stock indices across the world continued to fall on Friday (26/06) on heightened concern that debt-ridden Greece will fail to reach an agreement with its international creditors. The deal is necessary for Greece to obtain bailout funds in order to avoid a default on its debt to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) due on 30 June 2015. A default could mean a Greek exit (Grexit) from the Eurozone and jeopardizes stability of the whole financial system of the region. Talks between both sides will continue into the weekend.

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As Greece and its international creditors have failed to reach an agreement (yet) regarding the disbursement of crucial bailout funds for the debt payment of debt-ridden Greece to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) later this month, most Asian stocks fell on Thursday (25/06) in cautious trading. Indonesia’s benchmark stock index (Jakarta Composite Index) fell 0.68 percent to 4,920.04 points, while the rupiah depreciated 0.20 percent to IDR 13,328 per US dollar according to the Bloomberg Dollar Index.

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Pada hari Selasa (23/06) indeks-indeks saham Asia meningkatkan keuntungan berkat optimisme bahwa Yunani yang sedang dibebani hutang tidak akan gagal melakukan pembayaran hutang dan tetap menjadi anggota Uni Eropa. Sekalipun para pemimpin Uni Eropa mengingatkan bahwa masih ada pekerjaan yang harus dilakukan sebelum persetujuan bisa dicapai antara Yunani dan para kreditornya, pasar yakin bahwa tercapainya kesepakatan hanya masalah waktu. Kendati begitu, sama dengan keadaan kemarin, Indeks Harga Saham Gabungan (IHSG) tidak mengikuti optimisme global dan justru menurun 0,44% menjadi 4.937,65 poin.

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Over the last few months, we have seen a good deal of stability in the financial markets. This has been the experience in most asset classes, and the global value of the Indonesian rupiah is giving investors an idea of how the IDR is likely to continue to perform as an emerging market asset.

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Over the last few months, we have seen some impressive gains in the Indonesian rupiah (IDR) relative to the US dollar (USD). When we compare the performance of the IDR against the rest of the emerging market space, we can see that its gains are behind only the Brazilian real (BRL) and the Malaysian ringgit (MYR) for the period. This has prompted a wave of foreign export purchases as Indonesian consumers look to take advantage of the stronger currency.

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Broad market trends in the Indonesian rupiah have held relatively consistent over the last year, with a modest devaluation seen against the US dollar. We did see fluctuations in these trends during the summer months but many of these moves came as a result of external influences. One of the best examples here is the media turmoil that posted during this period with respect to a slowdown in the Chinese economy, and this has left many investors wondering whether the rupiah will be able to stand on its own merits and reverse some of its earlier weakness.

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Indonesia's heavily depreciated rupiah makes it more difficult for Indonesians to study abroad or to send their children to universities abroad without having the financial aid in the form of a scholarship. For those that are thinking of making such a decision, they need to take into account the performance of the Indonesian rupiah as well as the inflation outlook in the country of destination. So far in 2015, the Indonesian rupiah has depreciated 18 percent against the US dollar, 9 percent against the euro, 14 percent against China's yuan, and 2.4 percent against the Australian dollar.

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Although Indonesian stocks managed to rebound, the rupiah continued to depreciate against the US dollar today (25/08). However, rupiah weakening was limited as Bank Indonesia was closely monitoring and intervening in markets to support the rupiah. Based on the Bloomberg Dollar Index, the Indonesian rupiah depreciated 0.03 percent to IDR 14,054 per US dollar. As significant further rupiah weakening is assumed to seriously undermine confidence in the rupiah, the central bank’s intervention efforts are well received by investors.

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For most of this year, the financial media has held a generally positive tone. There have been some exceptions in cases like the Eurozone which is still mired in a deeply divided sovereign debt crisis. But for most of the world, 2015 has been a positive period in terms of general growth in their broad trends. So it might be easy for macro investors to assume that most markets are currently establishing themselves in the bullish direction.

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The Indonesian rupiah touched a 17-year low as the currency continued to depreciate amid persistent bullish US dollar momentum. The rupiah weakened to IDR 13,539 per US dollar according to the Bloomberg Dollar Index on Friday (31/07). The US Commerce Department announced on Thursday (30/07) that US gross domestic product (GDP) expanded at 2.3 percent (year-on-year) in the second quarter of 2015, giving rise to heightened expectation that the US Federal Reserve will raise its key interest rate soon.

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For most of this year, the Indonesian rupiah has met selling pressure against the US Dollar. Year-to-date price activity in the USD/IDR shows a rise from below IDR 12,250 to new highs above IDR 13,330 per US dollar. For Indonesian export companies, this is great news as it means that their products will be cheaper for foreign consumers to buy. For the domestic economy, this creates a different set of implications as it also makes it less likely that foreign investors will be looking to buy into Indonesian assets.

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Kalau kita memperhatikan aktivitas jangka panjang rupiah, kita telah melihat kekuatan yang mengejutkan dalam aktivitas beberapa bulan terakhir. Hal ini mengejutkan karena beberapa alasan yang berbeda dan tidak serupa dengan keadaan pasar negara berkembang lain di Asia. Secara esensial ini menyarankan bahwa aktivitas perekonomian di wilayah ini telah agak kurang berhubungan dan bahwa trend yang tampak di satu negara tidak bisa diprediksi sama di negara lain. Namun ketika kita melihat grafik aktivitas di rupiah sendiri, kita bisa melihat trend secara umum telah mulai berubah di dua bulan terakhir.

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Both Indonesian stocks and the rupiah continued to slide on Thursday (04/06) and seem to be caught in a vicious downward spiral brought about by both domestic and international factors. Indonesia’s benchmark stock index (Jakarta Composite Index) fell 0.68 percent to close at a five-week low of 5,095.82 points, while the rupiah depreciated 0.39 percent to IDR 13,281 per US dollar (Bloomberg Dollar Index), a level last seen in the late 1990s when the country was plagued by the Asian Financial Crisis.

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