Indonesian Rupiah is falling due to the oil price. (Image via TIMES Indonesia)

IDR falls deeper as oil prices slump

On Wednesday’s foreign exchange (forex) spot market opening, Indonesian Rupiah (IDR) is seen at Rp15,530 against the U.S Dollar (USD). The rate weakened by 63 basis points or 0.4 percent compared to Tuesday’s closing rate at Rp15,467/USD. For today, IDR is moving around Rp15,400 - Rp15,600/USD.

Today marks the second consecutive day that the majority of currencies of Asia – ASEAN regions weakened altogether. Reportedly, S. Korean Won (KRW) weakened by 0.51 percent, The Philippines Peso (PHP) by 0.09 percent, Malaysian Ringgit (MYR) by 0.04 percent, and Thai Baht (THB) by 0.01 percent against the USD.

While the Hong Kong Dollar (HKD) and the Japanese Yen (JPY) remain stagnant, only the Singaporean Dollar (SGD) strengthened 0.06 percent against the USD.

On the other side of the world, the majority of currencies of the developed countries also weakened against the USD. The European Union Euro (EUR) weakened by 0.09 percent, Great Britain Pound sterling (GBP) by 0.07 percent, and Swiss Franc (CHF) by 0.05 percent.

Only the Australian Dollar (AUD) and Canadian Dollar (CAD) strengthened by 0.17 percent and 0.06 percent respectively against the USD.

Unfortunately, Indonesian forex experts warned that IDR might fall deeper today because of the global negative sentiment regarding the slump in global oil prices. The slump is projected to hit sectors from industry to finance market thoroughly.

The sentiment caused concerns for the finance market players, making them release risk asset including forex. Should the sentiment persist, IDR will not recover.

Source: https://bit.ly/2zcWo95