Indonesia Lifts Palm Oil Export Ban, Proposes Big Boost To Energy Subsidies

The re-opening of onshore markets saw a sharp pullback in spot USD/IDR from fresh cycle highs printed on Thursday, as overnight greenback sales and the removal of Indonesia's palm oil export ban weigh on the pair. The rate has been chewing into its opening losses since and last trades at IDR14,668, down 65 figs on the day. Renewed losses past May 11 low of IDR14,525 would please bears, while bulls look to retake yesterday's high of IDR14,738.

• USD/IDR 1-month NDF last +15 figs at IDR14,654. Topside focus falls on May 16 high of IDR14,772, while bears look for a slide through May 11 low of IDR14,516.
• Indonesia will remove its palm oil export ban from Monday. The month-long halt in shipments was dictated by concerns over domestic supply, but came at a time when global food and energy markets are being rattled by the repercussions of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
• Late doors Thursday, FinMin Indrawati proposed boosting energy subsidies by IDR291tn, which would bring the total cost of these measures to IDR443tn, far above assumptions from the spending plan for this year.
• Indonesia's BoP current account balance for Q1 will hit the wires at the top of the hour. Surplus is expected to have shrunk to $918mn from $1.400bn recorded in the final quarter of 2021.
• Bank Indonesia will deliver its monetary policy decision next Tuesday and most economists surveyed by Bloomberg (13/17) expect policymakers to keep the 7-Day Reverse Repo Rate unchanged.