Due to the COVID-19, the IDR sneeze back to Rp13,675/USD. (Image via Market Bisnis)

COVID-19 pushes IDR to Rp13,675/USD

On Thursday’s foreign exchange (forex) spot market opening, Indonesian Rupiah (IDR) is seen at Rp13,675 against the U.S Dollar (USD). The rate weakened by 0.01 percent compared to Wednesday’s closing rate, Rp13,665/USD. For today, IDR is moving around Rp13,640 - Rp13,730/USD.

Today, the majority of currencies in Asia – ASEAN regions weakened against the USD. S. Korean Won (KRW) weakened by 0.17 percent, Thai Baht (THB) by 0.11 percent, Malaysian Ringgit by 0.10 percent, Philippines Peso (PHP) weakened by 0.04 percent, and Singaporean Dollar (SGD) by 0.06 percent.

Only the Japanese Yen (JPY) and New Taiwan Dollar (NTD) went up against the USD by 0.15 percent and 0.05 percent respectively against the USD.

On the other side of the world, the majority of currencies in the developed countries region also weakened against the USD. Great Britain Pound sterling (GBP) and the Australian Dollar weakened by 0.01 percent and 0.20 percent respectively, while the Canadian Dollar (CAD) and the European Union Euro (EUR) also weakened but slightly by 0.01 percent and 0.02 percent against the USD.

Indonesian forex experts worried that the negative sentiments from the market on the COVID-19 will press IDR’s rate even further. Moreover, the novel coronavirus-related pneumonia has been taking more tolls. Per Thursday, more than 1,100 people died due to the disease.

Fortunately, the World Health Organization stated that the number of infections is decreasing. This might break IDR’s fall.

Source: ttps://bit.ly/2OQB5PB