The Indonesian rupiah was observed to depreciate against the US dollar, amid easing tensions between the United States and China.
According to Refinitiv data, the rupiah closed at IDR 16,545 per US dollar on Wednesday (May 14, 2025), weakening by 0.21%.
Meanwhile, the US Dollar Index (DXY) edged down by 0.19% to 100.81 at 2:57 PM WIB, lower than the previous day’s close on Tuesday (May 13, 2025), which stood at 101.
The US dollar remained under pressure after President Trump reiterated his call for interest rate cuts, following US inflation data that came in below expectations. In a post on his Truth Social platform, Trump criticized Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell, accusing him of being “too slow” to lower interest rates.
US annual inflation in April eased to 2.3%, falling short of economists’ expectations of 2.4%, according to a Wall Street Journal survey. “At first glance, the dollar’s decline following the data appears reasonable, given the increased likelihood of earlier rate cuts,” said Thu Lan Nguyen of Commerzbank in a note.
In addition, market participants responded positively to the long-standing US-China trade conflict showing signs of improvement, as both countries agreed to significantly reduce import tariffs. The deal surprised many as the outcome was better than anticipated.
Under the agreement reached on Monday (May 12), US tariffs on Chinese goods were slashed from 145% to 30%, while China reduced its tariffs on US products from 125% to 10% for the next 90 days.
