Indonesian rupiah hits 17-year low, authorities downplay impact

JAKARTA: Indonesian authorities on Thursday downplayed the weakening rupiah, which hit a fresh 17-year low against the dollar, saying it would not have a significant impact on Southeast Asia's largest economy.

The rupiah, the second worst performing Asian currency this year after the Malaysian ringgit, fell as much as 0.2% on Thursday to 13,395 per dollar, its weakest since August 1998.