Rupiah Continues to Weaken, US Dollar Closes Higher at Rp18,055
The rupiah exchange rate remains unable to withstand pressure from the United States (US) dollar. The Garuda currency closed weaker against the greenback in trading on Tuesday (28/7/2026).
Referring to Refinitiv data, the rupiah closed depreciated by 0.31% at Rp18,055/US$. This weakening left the rupiah in the red zone for four consecutive trading days.
The rupiah opened trading today with a depreciation of 0.33% at the level of Rp18,060/US.Thepressureintensified, pushingtherupiahtotouchRp18, 095/US, its weakest position throughout today’s trading.
However, the Garuda currency managed to trim some of its losses ahead of the close and ended five points stronger than its opening position.
Meanwhile, the US dollar index (DXY), which measures the greenback’s strength against six major world currencies, was observed slightly strengthening by 0.01% to 101.491 at 15.00 WIB.
The movement of the Garuda currency remains overshadowed by the leadership transition at Bank Indonesia (BI) and the wait for the US central bank’s interest rate decision.
The market is still awaiting the change of leadership at BI after Perry Warjiyo resigned from his position as governor on Saturday (25/7/2026) for personal reasons.
The BI Board of Governors appointed Senior Deputy Governor Destry Damayanti as acting BI Governor in a meeting held on Sunday (26/7/2026).
Destry emphasised that the duties and decision-making at the central bank will continue to be carried out collectively and collegially. BI also ensured the continuity of policies to maintain the stability of the rupiah exchange rate, payment systems, and the financial system.
Externally, the US dollar remained near its highest level in a month ahead of the Federal Reserve’s interest rate decision. The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting is taking place over two days and will conclude on Wednesday (29/7/2026).
Based on CME FedWatch, the market is pricing in a 36.3% probability that the Fed will raise interest rates by 25 basis points at this meeting. This figure has increased from 16% the previous week.
The market also sees an 81% chance that a rate hike will be implemented at the September meeting.
Expectations of tighter US monetary policy have kept the appeal of dollar-denominated assets intact and added pressure on the rupiah.