08 May 2023 | News & Feature

Keeping it cool amidst the heating debt-ceiling debacle

  • The Rupiah holds on to its strength despite the general decline in commodity prices last week, thanks to robust demand for Indonesian government bonds.
  • The debt-ceiling alarm has led to a re-pricing in the market for short-tailed US Treasuries. But, the lack of similar price action in markets closer to the US shows that the US debt-ceiling crisis should have a neutral impact on faraway markets such as Indonesia.
  • The Rupiah may be close to its ceiling given the expectation of sticky inflation in the US that may deflate the Fed pivot sentiment and the seasonal bump in external payments in the upcoming quarter.