The Asian financial crisis of 1997 began in Thailand in May 1997, where the government found it harder to maintain the Thai baht peg at ฿25 to US$1. By 2 July 1997, Thailand abandoned its defence of the baht, allowing it to float freely. Indonesia, which had massive foreign reserves and was seen as having a strong economy, responded on 11 July 1997, by widening its exchange rate band from 8 to 12%. Indonesia had taken similar actions in the years leading up to the crisis, in December 1995 from 2 to 3%, in response to the Mexican financial crisis, and in June and September 1996, from 3 to 5% and then 5 to 8%. These actions had been successful in the past in defending the rupiah, but on this occasion, a more serious crisis of confidence arose.