Indonesia's rupiah weakened against the dollar Wednesday; U.S. inflation data had raised interest rate expectations, and a minister described Vice President Gibran Rakabuming Raka's stated intention to resign.
FXStreet reported the rupiah's decline during Asian trading and quoted about 18,140 rupiah per dollar. A separate exchange-rate provider listed 18,158.04 rupiah per dollar at its last update, 2:47 a.m. ET (07:47 UTC), and labeled the quote 15 minutes delayed. Readings from different providers do not establish the size of an intraday move.
State Secretary Minister Prasetyo Hadi said Gibran expressed his intention during a meeting of about two and a half hours with President Prabowo Subianto on Nov. 10. Hadi said Gibran also wanted to defend his educational records through legal proceedings. Hadi did not announce a completed resignation.
Indonesia's Constitutional Court said Oct. 6 that it had found no convincing evidence of an overseas diploma supporting Gibran's high school equivalency. It ruled the petition against him inadmissible because the petitioners lacked legal standing; it did not remove him from office.
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics put October's seasonally adjusted monthly rise in the consumer price index at 0.4%, following a 0.6% gain in September. Its index excluding food and energy rose 0.3% from September on the same basis. CME Group said Nov. 10 that its FedWatch tool assigned an 85.3% probability to a December Federal Reserve rate increase.
Bank Indonesia's interbank reference rate was 18,059 rupiah per dollar on Nov. 10, compared with 18,103 on Nov. 9. That benchmark is based on domestic spot transactions and is separate from Wednesday's market quotes.
Bank Indonesia held its policy rate at 5.75% on Oct. 21 and announced reserve-requirement cuts to increase rupiah liquidity; it separately outlined measures to stabilize the exchange rate. Its next policy meeting is scheduled for Nov. 17-18.
