Asian currencies are once again caught off guard by the increased uncertainty surrounding U.S. trade tariff policies, which have shaken global markets over the past two days. The Bloomberg Index, which measures the strength of emerging Asian currencies against the U.S. dollar, is moving into the red and is poised to record its first weekly decline since April, due to growing pressure from uncertainty surrounding tariff policies under the Trump Administration. The Korean won is the worst performer today, weakening by 0.77%, alongside the ringgit, Singapore dollar, offshore yuan, renminbi, as well as the rupee and peso. Meanwhile, the yen remains strengthened by 0.11%, along with the baht and Hong Kong dollar. Looking at weekly performance, the won stands out as the worst-performing currency with a depreciation of 1.13%. All Asian currencies fell this week, except for the Taiwan dollar.

The rupiah spot also fell by 0.42% over three days of trading in the short week. Meanwhile, in the offshore market, which does not recognize national holidays, the Non-Deliverable Forward (NDF) rupiah also slipped to Rp16,341/US$ ahead of this afternoon. The global market is being unsettled by developments regarding Trumps tariff policy. After the US trade court ruled that Trumps tariff policy was illegal. However, the US federal court granted a temporary stay of that ruling, prompting the White House to celebrate relief that the tariff policy could continue. At the same time, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent stated that trade talks between the US and China have somewhat stalled and may require a phone call session between the two leaders, Donald Trump and President Xi Jinping, to reach an agreement. Bessent said that discussions with China are expected to take place in the coming weeks and he assessed the direct involvement of the two leaders.

Source : Bloomberg Technoz, Jakarta

May 30, 2025