Rupiah moves fluctuatively amid Middle East geopolitical developments

Jakarta — The rupiah exchange rate at the close of trading in Jakarta on Wednesday weakened 23 points or 0.13 percent to Rp16,886 per US dollar from the previous close of Rp16,863 per US dollar.

Muhammad Amru Syifa, head of Research and Development at Indonesia Commodity & Derivatives Exchange (ICDX), stated that the rupiah tends to move fluctuatively in line with geopolitical developments in the Middle East.

“The rupiah’s movement in today’s trading is estimated to move fluctuatively with a tendency to remain stable to limited strengthening amid global sentiment dynamics. From the global perspective, the rupiah’s movement is still influenced by US dollar dynamics and geopolitical developments in the Middle East,” he told ANTARA in Jakarta on Wednesday.

According to him, the easing of some market concerns regarding conflict escalation in the region has provided room for emerging market currencies, including the rupiah, to strengthen.

“Market participants are currently also awaiting the release of US inflation data, which will be an important indicator for the direction of the Federal Reserve’s interest rate policy,” he said.

Looking at the domestic side, positive sentiment comes from solid consumption performance, reflected in the growth of the Real Sales Index (IPR) reported by Bank Indonesia.

Bank Indonesia’s Jakarta Interbank Spot Dollar Rate (JISDOR) also strengthened to Rp16,867 per US dollar from the previous level of Rp16,979 per US dollar.