Not much to everyone's concern, Trump's impeachment didn't do any harm to IDR. Uncertainty of Phase One negotiation did. (Image via Market Bisnis)

IDR went down slightly to Rp13,988/USD as “Phase One” goes uncertain

On Friday’s foreign exchange (forex) spot market opening, the Indonesian Rupiah (IDR) is seen at Rp13,998 against the U.S Dollar (USD). The rate weakened by 0.03 percent compared to Thursday’s closing rate at Rp13,985/USD. Today, IDR is moving around Rp13.960 - Rp14.030/USD.

On the other hand, the majority of currencies in Asia – ASEAN regions strengthened against the USD. S. Korean Won (KRW) strengthened by 0.11 percent, Thai Baht (THB) 0.05 percent, and the Japanese Yen (JPY) 0.05 percent.

The Philippines Peso (PHP) also strengthened by 0.03 percent, Malaysian Ringgit (MYR) 0.02 percent, and Turkish Lira (TRY) 0.01 percent.

Only the Hong Kong Dollar (HKD) and Taiwanese Dollar (TWD) shared the same burden as IDR, weakening by 0.06 percent and 0.01 percent respectively. Meanwhile, the Singaporean Dollar (SGD) remains stagnant in front of the USD.

The currencies of developed countries react variously against the USD. Great Britain Pound sterling (GBP) slightly strengthened by 0.01 percent, and Australian Dollar (AUD) by 0.07 percent.

Only the European Union Euro (EUR) and the Canadian Dollar (CAD) weakened against the USD by 0.03 percent and 0.05 percent respectively.

Indonesian forex experts said that the impeachment of the President of the U.S, Donald Trump, did not do anything to IDR’s rate. The U.S Senate, mainly controlled by Republicans, will do its best not to impeach the POTUS.

The weakening of IDR was mainly caused by the uncertainty of the “Phase One” negotiation between the U.S and China. On Thursday, China already confirmed the draft of the Phase One agreement, ready to be signed. Nonetheless, the confirmation, lacking details, remains uncertain.

While the Phase One uncertainty caused IDR to slightly weakened against the USD, the optimism that the agreement will be signed no later than January 2020 will hope to bring fresh air to IDR.

Source: https://bit.ly/38SYpox