Weekly Composite Index Down 0.22% to 327.95 (September 17-24, 2021)

Data from the Indonesian Bond Pricing Agency (PHEI) shows that the Indonesia Composite Bond Index (ICBI) closed at 327.9466 on Friday, September 24, 2021. This means that the bond price index in the domestic debt market fell 0.7215 points (0.22%) compared to the previous week's closing position of 328.6681. This ICBI position is the lowest since September 10, 2021.

Domestic bond investors are cautious about signals from the US Federal Reserve's policy. The Fed is expected to implement market liquidity tightening (tapering off) by shifting part of its portfolio. The plan involves a shift from government bonds to corporate bonds, whose prices are considered still cheap and offer profit prospects.

The INDOBeX Government Total Return Index fell 0.7889 points (0.24%) to 321.6003. Meanwhile, the INDOBeX Corporate Total Return Index rose 0.4682 points (0.13%) to 358.7082.

Concerns about the cascading effects of the massive debt burden on the Chinese property company, Evergrande, are also causing investors to refrain from chasing bonds. This caused the ICBI to fall below the 328 level for the first time since September 11, 2021. On the other hand, the Composite Effective Yield Index rose 0.0509 points (0.87%) to 5.8754 in the past week.

The Fed's planned liquidity tightening policy, starting at the end of this year, is triggering a strengthening of the US dollar against major world currencies. This is reflected in the rise of the US dollar index against major currencies (DXY), which is currently at 93, up from the previous range of 92.

This condition has impacted the weakening of some regional currencies, including the Indonesian Rupiah. The Rupiah exchange rate at the end of last week closed down Rp 15 per US dollar (0.11%) to 14,257.5 per US dollar from the previous week. Meanwhile, the Jakarta Composite Index (IHSG) of the Indonesia Stock Exchange strengthened slightly by 34.7 points (0.24%) to 6,144.82 on Friday compared to the previous Friday.