Breaking News! US Dollar Holds at Rp17,650

Jakarta, CNBC Indonesia - The rupiah exchange rate opened weaker against the United States dollar at the start of trading on Tuesday (19/5/2026). Refinitiv data show the rupiah beginning this morning in the red zone with a 0.06% depreciation to Rp17,650 per US.Thisdepreciationextendspressureontherupiahaftertheprevioussession, Monday(18/5/2026), whentheGarudacurrencycloseddownsharply1.03. This level also marked one of the weakest rupiah levels in history. Meanwhile, the US dollar index (DXY), which measures the greenback’s strength against six major currencies, was seen weakening. As of 09:00 WIB, the DXY fell 0.15% to 99.044. The rupiah’s movement today is expected to remain influenced by domestic and global sentiment. Domestically, market participants’ attention is on the Board of Governors Meeting of Bank Indonesia (RDG BI) which began this Tuesday. The two-day meeting will run until Wednesday (20/5/2026). In this RDG, market players await BI’s latest decision on the direction of the policy rate. The decision is particularly important as it comes amid heavy pressures on the domestic financial markets, especially the rupiah and the stock market. In the previous RDG, on 21-22 April 2026, BI kept the BI Rate at 4.75%. The Deposit Facility rate also remained at 3.75%, while the Lending Facility rate was held at 5.50%. On the global side, traders are still weighing the prospects of an end to the Iran conflict in the near term, while considering whether global central banks should tighten policy again if oil prices stay high. Oil prices rose about 2% to the highest level in two weeks on trading Monday. The rise occurred amid concerns about supply disruptions due to the Iran war, although reports emerged that the US has agreed to ease sanctions on Iranian crude during talks. Previously, the US dollar had strengthened last week as Treasury yields rose. The yield increase was driven by concerns that energy price spikes would feed into consumer inflation and open the possibility of the Fed raising rates again. With the weakening of the US dollar index this morning, room for other currencies to strengthen, including the rupiah, opens up more.