VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

The dollar index rose to its highest in nearly seven weeks on Thursday, a day after minutes from the Federal Reserve's last policy meeting that supported, but did not add to markets' view the central bank will raise rates further.

The index , which tracks the greenback against six major peers touched 104.68, its highest since Jan. 6, in late morning in Europe, before trading just below that level steady on the day.

The euro , the largest component of the index, briefly touched $1.0586, also its lowest since early Jan, largely unaffected by euro zone inflation data that came in a touch higher in January than earlier estimated, confirming that price growth is now well past its peak.

Underlying price pressures still show no signs of abating however.

The dollar sat at 134.94 Japanese yen , just off its two-month top of 135.2 reached on Tuesday.

The dollar index climbed 0.36% on Wednesday as minutes from the Jan. 31-Feb. 1 Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting showed nearly all policymakers favoured a slowing in the pace of interest rate hikes, but they also indicated curbing unacceptably high inflation would be the "key factor" in how much further rates need to rise.

The impact of the minutes was slightly lessened as the meeting preceded a series of indicators released in February, most notably jobs data, that showed the U.S. economy is performing well, leaving the Fed greater scope to raise rates to bring down inflation.

Traders of futures tied to the Federal Reserve's policy rate largely stuck to the view the central bank will keep raising rates by a quarter of a point at its next three meetings.

The recent increase in these expectations has caused the dollar index to rise steadily from a low of 100.8 in early February. But it is still well off its 20-year top of 114.78 hit last October - a time of fear about the health of the global economy, and when the Federal Reserve was raising rates more aggressively than other central banks around the world.

“I think that after the ‘popping’ of the dollar bubble, we're in a new phase for the dollar which we call the ‘chop’ where the market reassesses some of the reasons why it was so negative on the dollar – there was complacency about the Fed and the market was pricing in too many cuts for this year – which is now getting washed out,” said Paul Mackel global head of FX research at HSBC.

“But once that becomes more complete, and we get further signs that the global economy is doing better, we’ll go into the next stage for the broader dollar: the ‘flop’”

Elsewhere, sterling was a whisker lower at $1.2029, the Swiss franc was also a touch softer at 0.9318 per dollar, and the Australian dollar was a rare gainer in the G10 pack, up 0.4% to $0.6833, having slid to a near seven-week low of $0.6795 on Wednesday.

Simon Harvey, head of FX analysis at Monex Europe, said the rare lull in volatility reflects markets' comfort with current expectations for central bank policy.

"So the rates dynamic is starting to take a back seat temporarily before the next batch of data and central bank commentary comes through."

"Until then, there will be more idiosyncratic stories, for example tomorrow we have Ueda speaking in front of parliament in Japan, and other smaller bits of data, like person consumption data from the US tomorrow, will have an outsized impact."

Incoming Bank of Japan Governor Kazuo Ueda will speak in parliament on Friday and next Monday, with investors looking for clues on how soon the BOJ could end its bond yield control policy. (Reuters)

North Korean state media marked the first anniversary of Russia's invasion of Ukraine by blaming the crisis on NATO and calling America's involvement a "trail to self-destruction."

In a commentary carried by state news agency KCNA on Thursday on the eve of the Feb. 24 anniversary, international affairs critic Kim Yoo-chul said the conflict in Ukraine is the "inevitable product of coercion and hegemony" by the United States and its allies.

The Ukraine war, the biggest land conflict in Europe since World War Two, has displaced millions, left Ukrainian cities, towns and villages in ruins and disrupted the global economy.

North Korea has forged closed ties to Russia since the war began, publicly supporting Moscow in statements as well as at the United Nations.

"If Ukraine had not blindly taken part in the U.S. policy of anti-Russian confrontation, if it had abandoned the dirty demons of the United States and promoted reconciliation and unity with its neighbours, the situation would not have reached the point where it is as bad as it is now," Kim wrote.

"The current situation in Ukraine once again proves that there can be no peace in the world at any time unless the United States' policy of force, tyranny, and greedy aggression... is ended."

The Kremlin says it regards NATO, which could soon expand to include Sweden and Finland, as an existential threat to Russia.

The United States has accused North Korea of providing weapons to Russia, which both Moscow and Pyongyang have denied. (Reuters)

Jakarta (voinews): Indonesian President Joko Widodo (Jokowi) on Thursday called to expand downstream industries outside the scope of the mineral and coal mining sector to cover the agricultural, plantation, and fisheries sectors.

Jokowi made the statement in his directive at the 2023 National Working Meeting (Rakernas) of the Association of Indonesian Provincial Governments (APPSI) in Balikpapan, East Kalimantan.

"I have often spoken about regional downstreaming. I want to emphasize that apart from downstreaming in the mining, mineral, and coal sectors, we must also encourage downstreaming in other sectors," he noted.

In addition, he pushed for progress in the downstream industries in the fisheries, agriculture, and plantation sectors owing to their vast potential and availability in all regions.

Jokowi then cited an example in the plantation sector. He noted that the added value of young coconut, usually sold at Rp10 thousand to Rp15 thousand per piece, can be increased by making it a coco thumb product (young coconut) akin to the ones sold in Thailand.

"In Thailand, just peel a little bit of the young coconut's skin, it can then be sold (as coco thumb) for Rp45 thousand to Rp50 thousand. The value increases threefold. It is just a matter of beautifying the packaging," he emphasized.

According to the head of state, the people in Indonesia can emulate this approach with support from governors.

"This is just an example. The added value can increase three times," Jokowi stressed.

Meanwhile, in the fisheries sector, fish can not only be processed into salted fish but its added value can also be increased if it is processed into fish flour, he pointed out.

"Fish sold as salted fish cannot bring added value. However, if we modify it a little and turn it into fish flour, then the added value can be doubled or tripled," he said.

He added that the global demand for fish flour was significant, and that fishermen, cooperatives, micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs), and small industries could be encouraged to produce fish flour and other various products in each region. (Antaranews)

Jakarta (voinews): Indonesian Minister of Defense Prabowo Subianto IDEX attended the International Defense Exhibition and Conference (IDEX) exhibition at the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Center (ADNEC), Abu Dhabi, with a delegation from Indonesia. Prabowo attended the exhibition as an invitation from the President of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan to strengthen defense cooperation between the two countries.

"Cooperation in the defense sector, especially the defense industry, is very important for the two countries, especially for the development of the defense industry in the future," Prabowo said in a statement received in Jakarta, Thursday. On that occasion, Sheikh Mohamed was accompanied by the Prime Minister and Crown Prince of Bahrain HRH Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa at the Assembly, Abu Dhabi, Thursday (23/2). Indonesia participated in the IDEX exhibition at ADNEC, Abu Dhabi, on February 21-25.

The Indonesian delegation, led by the Indonesian Ministry of Defense, brought 12 defense industries to the exhibition. The national defense industry participating in the exhibition is PT Dirgantara Indonesia, PT Pindad, PT PAL Indonesia, PT Len Industri, PT Ridho Agung Mitra Abadi, PT Jala Berikat Nusantara Perkasa, PT Falah Innovation Technology, PT Fazza Royal Yantasir Simulation, PT Persada Aman Sentosa, PT IPCD, PT SSE, and PT Infoglobal. In addition to introducing domestic defense industry products, Indonesia's participation in IDEX 2023 is also to increase networks and seek opportunities for cooperation with foreign defense industries. (Antaranews)