Over the past week the Indonesian rupiah depreciated 0.60 percent to IDR 12,941 per US dollar (Jakarta Interbank Spot Dollar Rate). At the start of the week the rupiah experienced severe pressure as market participants were concerned about Indonesia’s slowing economic growth. However, in the second half of the week, Indonesia’s currency somewhat improved as the US dollar was negatively affected by weak US economic data. Based on the Bloomberg Dollar Index, the rupiah finished at IDR 12,922 per US dollar on Friday (24/04).

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Di dalam Update Perekonomian Asia Timur dan Pasifik dari Bank Dunia, dirilis hari Senin (13/04), institusi yang bermarkas di Washington ini merevisi turun proyeksi pertumbuhan ekonomi Indonesia menjadi 5,2% pada basis year-on-year (y/y) di 2015, menurun dari 5,6% di Update Bank Dunia sebelumnya. Penyebab utama penurunan proyeksi ini adalah performa ekspor Indonesia yang tetap lemah karena lambatnya perekonomian dunia, termasuk lemahnya permintaan dari Republik Rakyat Tionghoa (mitra dagang terbesar Indonesia). Sementara itu, konsumsi domestik Indonesia dibatasi tingkat suku bunga yang tinggi.

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Di edisi terbaru dari Update Perekonomian Asia Pasifik Timur, dirilis pada hari Senin (13 April 2015), Bank Dunia menurunkan proyeksi pertumbuhan ekonomi untuk negara-negara berkembang di Asia Timur & Republik Rakyat Tionghoa (RRT) menjadi 6,7% pada basis year-on-year (y/y) di 2015 dan 2016 dari asumsi awalnya yaitu pertumbuhan 6,9% (y/y) di 2015 dan 6,8% (y/y) di 2016. Alasan utama untuk menurunnya revisi adalah karena ketidakjelasan konteks perekonomian global, yang mencakup dampak dari ancaman kenaikan suku bunga Amerika Serikat (AS) dan kenaikan nilai tukar dollar AS.

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Investors in Asian markets should not be overly concerned about slowing economic growth in China or bullish US dollar momentum ahead of higher US interest rates as economic growth rates in this region are still significantly higher than in other parts of the world. Thanks to a burgeoning middle class segment (which constitutes a strong consumer force), Asia has great prospects for the long-term. This is the message conveyed in the words of Christophe Palumbo, Senior Business Development Manager at Aberdeen Asset Management.

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Indonesian stocks continued to climb strongly after the market opened on Tuesday (31/03). The country’s benchmark Jakarta Composite Index (IHSG) surged nearly one percent. Several external and internal factors are at play here. Firstly, the US Federal Reserve indicated over the past week that it may not raise its key interest rate too soon, leading to investors’ appetite for emerging market assets. Secondly, Chinese policymakers provided room for increased infrastructure spending and monetary stimulus.

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Diperkirakan bahwa ekspor minyak sawit mentah (crude palm oil/CPO) dan hasil olahannya jatuh pada Februari 2015 karena permintaan yang lambat dari India dan Republik Rakyat Tionghoa (RRT), dua negara pengimpor minyak sawit terbesar di dunia. Ekspor juga menurun karena produksi kedelai dunia meningkat (minyak kedelai adalah bahan pengganti yang mirip dengan minyak sawit untuk digunakan sebagai bahan makanan dan biodiesel). Berdasarkan pada median dari enam penghasil minyak sawit, perkiraan para analis dan lembaga, pengiriman minyak sawit Indonesia (termasuk bungkil inti sawit) jatuh 6% pada basis month-to-month (m/m) menjadi 1,7 juta metrik ton di bulan Februari.

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Pendapatan perusahaan-perusahaan pertambangan batubara yang terdaftar di Bursa Efek Indonesia (BEI) secara umum menurun pada 2014. Ini menjadi bukti bahwa industri batubara, yang merupakan bisnis yang menguntungkan pada tahun 2000an (hingga 2011), masih mengalami perlambatan karena masalah-masalah ekonomi global. Ekonomi global yang bergerak lambat menyebabkan permintaan yang rendah bagi komoditi-komoditi seperti batubara dan minyak sawit mentah (dua penghasil devisa penting di Indonesia). Perlambatan pertumbuhan ekonomi di Republik Rakyat Tionghoa (RRT) khususnya mengkhawatirkan.

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Saham-saham Indonesia dan nilai tukar rupiah kena dampak negatif dari penguatan nilai tukar dollar Amerika Serikat (AS) pada hari Senin (09/03) setelah rilisnya US payrolls yang lebih kuat dari prediksi sebelumnya dan karenanya memperkuat dugaan bahwa US Federal Reserve akan menaikkan suku bunga pinjaman acuannya pada bulan Juni. Terlebih lagi, pada minggu lalu, Gubernur bank sentral AS Janet Yellen telah memberikan sinyal kepada Konggres AS bahwa bank sentral AS mungkin akan mengurangi 'patient stance'. IHSG jatuh 1,25% ke 5.445,84 poin pada sesi perdagangan pertama di hari Senin (09/03).

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Pemerintah Indonesia meneruskan perjuangan mereka untuk meringankan kekuatiran masyarakat tentang dampak dari rupiah yang lemah pada perekonomian Indonesia. Bahkan, Pemerintah menekankan bahwa rupiah yang lemah akan berdampak positif pada neraca perdagangan dan neraca transaksi berjalan karena produk-produk ekspor Indonesia menjadi lebih kompetitif. Selama satu minggu ini, rupiah melemah 1% terhadap dollar Amerika Serikat (AS). Sejak awal 2015, rupiah telah jatuh 4,4% terhadap dollar AS, karenanya menjadi salah satu mata uang di negara-negara berkembang Asia dengan performa terburuk di tahun ini.

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While most Southeast Asian stock markets and emerging Asian currencies strengthened on Tuesday (03/03) on the back of a rebounding yen and - contrary to expectation - the decision of the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) to leave its cash rate a record low of 2.25 percent, Indonesian stocks and the rupiah performed rather flat. The benchmark Jakarta Composite Index fell 0.06 percent to 5,474.62 points, while the Indonesian rupiah rate appreciated 0.01 percent to IDR 12,969 according to the Bloomberg Dollar Index.

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Supported by enthousiastic foreign investors, the benchmark stock index of Indonesia (Jakarta Composite Index or also known as IHSG) managed to climb 0.61 percent to 4,942.16 points on Tuesday (03/06). Particularly consumer, trade and mining stocks were popular on today's trading day. It is interesting to note that this growth happened amid sharp rupiah depreciation as the currency still feels the negative impact of the USD $1.97 billion April 2014 trade deficit that was released yesterday (02/06).

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Although initially the benchmark stock index of Indonesia (known as Jakarta Composite index or IHSG) fell after the market responded to today's release of Indonesia's April trade deficit and May inflation, the index ended in the green zone due to foreign net buying and general positive Asian indices (influenced by higher stock indices on Wall Street at the end of last week). Particularly Indonesia's big cap stocks in the miscellaneous industry and consumer sectors were popular as these were relatively cheap after having tumbled at the end of last week.

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Investors' appetite for mining and plantation stocks managed to support the benchmark stock index of Indonesia (known as the Jakarta Composite Index or IHSG) on Thursday's trading day (22/05). After the recent decline of the IHSG, market participants continued to accumulate stocks that are considered cheap. Furthermore, indices on Wall Street on Wednesday were up and impacted positively on Asian indices on Thursday, thereby providing positive market sentiments for the IHSG.

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Although most Asian emerging currencies strengthened on Thursday (22/05) against the US dollar due to the preliminary HSBC Flash China Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) recovering to 49.7 in May 2014 (from 48.1 one month earlier) and the Federal Reserve Minutes indicating that there will be no US interest rate hike soon, the Indonesian rupiah exchange rate continued to decline. Based on the Bloomberg Dollar Index, the currency had depreciated 0.19 percent to IDR 11,531 per US dollar by 5pm local Jakarta time.

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Although initially the benchmark stock index of Indonesia (known as the Jakarta Composite Index or IHSG) declined shortly after the opening on Wednesday (21/05), during the remainder of the day it went up. This is a trend which we often detect: after a sharp fall we see a rebound on the following day as investors want to take advantage of 'cheap' stocks. However, the rebound was only limited as investors prefer to wait and see for further market sentiments first. The main positive factor today were rising Asian stock indices.

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While most emerging Asian currencies fell, the Indonesian rupiah exchange rate appreciated 0.08 percent to IDR 11,523 per US dollar based on the Bloomberg Dollar Index on Monday (12/05). The depreciating Chinese yuan, after its central bank set the midrate at its lowest level in eight months, put pressure on other Asian currencies. Today, Indonesia's Finance Ministry sold IDR 10 trillion rupiah (USD $867 million) of bonds, higher than the indicative target of IDR 8 trillion rupiah. Meanwhile, Indonesia’s two-year bonds gained.

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Contrary to most Asian stock indices, the benchmark stock index of Indonesia (known as IHSG or the Jakarta Composite Index) declined on Thursday (08/05). Positive sentiments that were provided by the BI rate (Indonesia's benchmark interest rate) that was kept at 7.50% in today's Bank Indonesia Board of Governors' Meeting, and China's higher-than-expected trade balance in April 2014 (USD $18.5 billion), were offset by the depreciating rupiah exchange rate and foreign net selling of Indonesian stocks. The IHSG fell 0.02 percent to 4,860.89 points.

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The central bank of Indonesia (Bank Indonesia) decided at today’s Bank Indonesia Board of Governors’ Meeting, convened on 8 May 2014, to maintain the country's benchmark interest rate (BI rate) at 7.50 percent, with the Lending Facility rate and Deposit Facility rate held at 7.50 percent and 5.75 percent respectively. This policy is consistent with efforts to steer the rate of inflation towards its target corridor of 4.5±1 percent in 2014 and 4.0±1 percent in 2015, as well as to reduce the current account deficit to a more sustainable level.

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After Statistics Indonesia (BPS) had announced on Monday (05/05) that Indonesia's gross domestic product (GDP) grew by 5.21 percent year-on-year (yoy) in the first quarter of 2014 (considerably below analysts' projections of around 5.6 percent), concerns have risen about the country's economic expansion for the remainder of the year. The government of Indonesia targets a GDP growth rate of between 5.8 and 6.0 percent (yoy). However, several international institutions do not agree with this optimistic target.

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The benchmark Indonesia stock index (IHSG or Jakarta Composite Index) moved sideways on Monday's trading day (05/05) influenced by Indonesia's disappointing GDP growth result in the first quarter of 2014 in combination with mixed Asian stock indices. At the start of the day, the index was up as investors believed that the Q1-2014 GDP growth result would be in line with expectations. However, after Statistics Indonesia announced the growth rate, the IHSG fell, although stayed in the green zone.

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