Rupiah Opens at Rp18,128 to the US Dollar
The rupiah opened slightly weaker against the US dollar at the start of trading on Friday (30 October 2026), after strengthening in the previous session.
Refinitiv data showed the rupiah opening at Rp18,128 per US dollar, down 0.02% from Thursday’s (29 October 2026) close of Rp18,125. Meanwhile, at 9am WIB, the US dollar index (DXY), which measures the greenback against six major currencies, was down 0.30% at 101.731.
The rupiah’s movement came as markets focused on US economic growth and inflation data released on Thursday (29 October 2026).
The US economy grew by 3.4% at an annualised rate in the third quarter of 2026, up from 2.2% in the previous quarter and above market expectations of 3.2%.
Meanwhile, US Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) inflation rose to 3.6% year on year in September, from 3.4% in August. Core PCE inflation also increased, to 3.1% from 3.0%.
Stronger-than-expected economic growth and persistently high inflation could make the Federal Reserve more cautious in setting interest rates. This could sustain the appeal of US dollar-denominated assets and limit the rupiah’s potential gains.
Domestically, markets are watching the direction of Bank Indonesia’s (BI) monetary policy ahead of its November 2026 meeting. BI Governor Destry Damayanti said the benchmark interest rate decision would continue to depend on domestic and global economic data, rather than automatically following the Federal Reserve’s moves.
“[It will be] data dependent; we’ll see how things develop. We have many policy instruments,” Destry said after attending the 2026 Kadin National Leadership Meeting in Jakarta on Thursday (29 October 2026).
With the rupiah under pressure, BI is also preparing various instruments to maintain exchange-rate stability, including incentives for hedging costs, macroprudential policies and Bank Indonesia Rupiah Securities (SRBI). These measures are in focus as high US bond yields and global uncertainty continue to weigh on emerging-market currencies.