Rupiah Strengthens as US Dollar Drops to Rp17,710
The rupiah exchange rate attempted to rebound against the US dollar at the opening of the final trading session of this week. The ‘Garuda’ currency gained breathing room following a limited correction in the US dollar index.
According to Refinitiv data, the rupiah began trading on Friday (18/09/2026) with a 0.21% appreciation to the level of Rp17,710/US.ThisstrengtheningfollowsThursday′s(17/09/2026)close, wheretherupiahhadweakenedby0.41.
Meanwhile, the US dollar index (DXY), which measures the strength of the greenback against six major world currencies, was observed to have weakened slightly by 0.01% to 100.237 as of 09:00 WIB.
The movement of the rupiah in the final trading session of the week is expected to remain influenced by both international and domestic developments.
In the global market, the US dollar began to lose momentum after surging sharply following the US Federal Reserve’s decision to officially raise interest rates by 25 basis points to a range of 3.75%-4.00%. The dollar’s correction occurred alongside falling US government bond yields and easing oil prices. Reports regarding additional crude oil shipments from Saudi Arabia via Oman have also reduced concerns regarding energy supplies.
Despite the correction, the US dollar remains above its psychological level of 100. Market participants even anticipate a more aggressive interest rate hike path than the Fed’s projections. Fed officials anticipate one additional hike in 2026 and no changes in 2027.
However, investors are pricing in more than one additional hike by the end of this year and approximately three more hikes until the end of 2027. These differing expectations mean the dollar’s movement remains subject to potential volatility.
Domestically, market attention will be focused on the ‘APBN KiTa’ (State Budget) press conference to be held by Finance Minister Suahasil Nazara. The press conference will discuss the realisation of state revenue and expenditure up to August 2026. This marks Suahasil’s first APBN KiTa press conference since assuming office as Finance Minister.
Market players will closely scrutinise the policy direction presented by Suahasil, particularly regarding developments in state revenue, government spending, and debt financing. The realisation figures up to August will also provide an initial outlook for estimating the state budget condition through the end of 2026, including the government’s ability to maintain the deficit and fund priority programmes.