Indonesian Rupiah's First Strengthening Against the US Dollar Since 2011

For the first time since 2011, the Indonesian Rupiah's exchange rate against the US dollar strengthened in 2016. In transactions on December 22, 2016, the Rupiah exchange rate, based on Bloomberg data in the spot market, closed at Rp 13,469 per US dollar, representing a 2.31 percent appreciation from its position at the end of December 2015, which was Rp 13,788 per US dollar. Continued economic growth of around 5 percent and controlled inflation supported the Rupiah's strengthening against the US currency.

From 1996 to 2016, the Rupiah experienced a weakening trend against the US dollar. At the end of 1996, the Rupiah exchange rate was Rp 2,363 per US dollar, but by the end of 2016, it had reached Rp 13,469 per US dollar, representing a 670 percent depreciation or an average of approximately 12 percent per year.

In 1997, the Rupiah depreciated by 128.7 percent to Rp 5,403 per US dollar from its position at the end of 1996. This weakening of the Rupiah was the deepest in history. This was followed by a 48 percent depreciation in 1998 during the Asian financial crisis, often referred to as the monetary crisis.