The Rupiah managed to strengthen against the US Dollar in the final\ntrading session of July. However, this late gain was insufficient to\noffset the depreciation experienced throughout the week and the month.\nAccording to Refinitiv, the Rupiah closed up 0.47% at Rp17,990\/US$ on\nFriday (31\/07\/2026).<\/p>\n
Despite the sharp recovery in the final session, the Rupiah weakened\nby 0.31% over the week, marking the worst performance among Asian\ncurrencies. This pressure was particularly notable as the US Dollar\nIndex fell by 1.53% during the same period to 99.914. Looking at the\nbroader monthly view, the Rupiah depreciated by 0.64% throughout July.\nThe currency briefly breached the Rp18,000\/US$ level following the\nresignation of Bank Indonesia Governor Perry Warjiyo, which sparked\nconcerns regarding leadership transition and central bank independence.\nPerry announced his resignation on Monday (27\/07\/2026) for personal\nreasons, with Senior Deputy Governor Destry Damayanti appointed as\nacting Governor.<\/p>\n
Furthermore, the Rupiah\u2019s weakness coincided with a surge in global\noil prices. Throughout July, Brent crude jumped by 23.59%, while West\nTexas Intermediate (WTI) soared by 21.83%. As an oil importer, Indonesia\nfaces increased demand for US Dollars as energy costs rise.<\/p>\n
The Rupiah\u2019s movement stood in stark contrast to its regional peers;\nout of ten currencies, nine strengthened while only the Rupiah ended in\nthe red. The Japanese Yen saw the largest gain, surging 3.83% to\nJPY157.57 per US Dollar. This rally was primarily driven by Japanese\ngovernment intervention, involving the purchase of Yen and the sale of\nDollars on Thursday (30\/07\/2026). Bank of Japan data suggests the\nintervention value could reach US$58.97 billion. The Yen\u2019s strength was\nfurther supported by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York purchasing Yen\non behalf of the US Treasury, marking the first such US intervention to\nsupport the Yen since 2011.<\/p>\n
South Korea\u2019s Won also strengthened by 1.17%, following reports of\ndollar sales by South Korean authorities. Other regional gains were\nrecorded by the Thai Baht (0.80%), Philippine Peso (0.74%), Singapore\nDollar (0.64%), Chinese Yuan (0.31%), Vietnamese Dong (0.13%), Malaysian\nRinggit (0.12%), and Taiwan Dollar (0.08%).<\/p>\n
The broad-based Asian rally followed the weakening of the US Dollar,\nwhich retreated after the Federal Reserve maintained interest rates\nwithin the 3.50%-375% range during its July 28-29, 2026 meeting. While\nthe decision was accompanied by signals of tighter policy, the lack of\nclear guidance on the timing of future hikes led markets to reduce bets\non a September rate increase. The Dollar faced further pressure after US\nPersonal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) price index fell by 0.1%\nmonth-on-month in June, suggesting lower inflation and reducing the\nimmediate pressure on the Federal Reserve to hike rates.<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/asian-currencies-rally-this-week-but-rupiah-slumps-1785560156", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }