JAKARTA (Yosefardi) – The rupiah weakened 0.37% to Rp11,810 against the US dollar on Tuesday (June 3), heading to Rp12,000 level, bloomberg.com reported.
While Bank Indonesia, central bank, set mid rate of Rupiah at Rp11,806 against the US dollar. Year to date, however, the rupiah gained 2.9%. It reached Rp12,240 on February 3, 2014.
Some factors have pressured the rupiah to weaken against the US dollar. Investors opted to hold the dollar, instead of the rupiah, as domestic political factor is heating up ahead of the presidential election scheduled for July 9, 2014.
The trade deficit of US$1.97 billion in April also added negative sentiment for the rupiah. The pressure for deficit might increase in the next quarters.
The Central Bureau of Statistics (BPS) reported on Monday (June 2) that Indonesia’s export dropped 5.92% to US$14.3 billion in April, dragged down by falling export of oil and gas products. While import surged 11.93% over March 2014 to US$16.26 billion.