Currency observer Ibrahim Assuaibi stated that the sharp depreciation of the rupiah today was partly caused by the death of an online motorcycle taxi (ojol) driver, who was crushed by a police mobile brigades tactical vehicle during a protest on Thursday night, August 28, 2025. According to Ibrahim, the incident has intensified domestic political tensions, following public protests against housing allowances for members of the House of Representatives (DPR).

This chaos has made the market somewhat apathetic towards Indonesian politics, leading to a significant depreciation of the rupiah, Ibrahim stated on Friday, August 29, 2025. He also opined that the incident involving the death of the ojol driver will likely prolong the protests.

From an external perspective, the U.S. economic growth has also influenced the rupiahs weakness. Ibrahim highlighted the U.S. economic growth in the second quarter of 2025, which was recorded at 3.3 percent. This figure is higher than the initial projection of 3.1 percent. This indicates that the U.S. economic growth is quite good, said Ibrahim.

Alongside the weakening of the rupiah, the price of precious metals has increased. According to Logam Mulias website, Antams gold price is Rp1,964,000 per gram today. This price has risen by Rp20,000 from the previous trading day. The price of precious metals may approach Rp2 million, Ibrahim stated.

Source : tempo.co

Aug 30th, 2025