The Indonesian rupiah weakened toward IDR 16,700 per dollar on Wednesday, retreating from 16,600 in the prior session as investors grew cautious ahead of Bank Indonesia’s final policy meeting of the year later in the day. The central bank is widely expected to keep its benchmark rate unchanged at 4.75% for a third straight meeting, though officials continue to flag scope for further easing after a total 150bps of cuts over the past year. Governor Perry Warjiyo stressed the need to bolster economic growth, which he said remains below potential, with Q3 GDP expanding 5.04% year-on-year, down from 5.12% in Q2 on softer private consumption. Warjiyo also noted depositor demand for higher returns has slowed lending rate reductions, limiting monetary transmission. Meanwhile, tepid credit demand pushed loan growth to a three-month low in October. Externally, the dollar index held above 98, near two-month lows, as mixed U.S. labor data left Fed policy expectations relatively unchanged.