REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA -- The Indonesian rupiah hits 12,599 IDR versus the US dollar on Monday, according to Jakarta Interbank Spot Dollar Rate (JISDOR). Vice President Jusuf Kalla stated that the condition brought both positive and negative impacts for the country.

"The depreciation gains the value of exported goods. However, it causes the price of imported goods to soar," Jusuf Kalla said on Monday, December 15. The silver lining of such condition, he said, was that Indonesia could decrease current account deficit.

Meanwhile, Coordinating Minister of Economy Sofyan Djalil said Indonesia was not the only country affected by dollar's gain. Other Asian currencies have stumbled in recent weeks as investors positioned for the Federal Reserve to start raising interest rates next year. "The USD is coming back home," Djalil said.

Rupiah depreciates 2.5 percent year-on-year from December 2013 to December 2014. It is lower than Japanese Yen and Thailand Bath which declines 15 percent and 6 percent each.

Rupiah's weakness is also caused by investors’ anticipation towards Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting in the week ahead. Many companies also seek dollar to pay their debt.

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