Rupiah strengthens as US-Iran conflict eases slightly

Jakarta (ANTARA) - The rupiah exchange rate moved stronger by 34 points or 0.20 per cent to Rp17,390 per US dollar on Wednesday morning, unchanged from the previous close at Rp17,424 per US dollar.

Bank Woori Saudara analyst Rully Nova stated that the rupiah’s strengthening was influenced by US President Donald Trump’s statement that the intensity of attacks on Iran would be reduced.

“The rupiah is expected to strengthen in today’s trading, following the strengthening of most regional currencies which opened higher in line with the easing of oil prices and the dollar index due to President Trump’s statement that the intensity of attacks on Iran will be reduced,” he told ANTARA in Jakarta on Wednesday.

Quoting Sputnik, Trump said that he had decided to postpone Project Freedom, which aims to ensure freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz, to see if a peace agreement with Iran could be reached.

Based on requests from Pakistan and other countries, the US agreed that the blockade would remain fully in place, and Project Freedom (ship movements through the Strait of Hormuz) would be paused for a short time to see if that agreement (peace with Iran) could be finalised and signed.

Meanwhile, domestic sentiment stems from market euphoria over Indonesia’s highest economic growth in the last four years, and expectations of an interest rate increase by Bank Indonesia this quarter.

The Central Statistics Agency (BPS) announced that Indonesia’s economic growth was 5.61 per cent year-on-year in the first quarter of 2026.

Meanwhile, on a quarterly basis, economic growth was recorded to have contracted by 0.77 per cent (quarter-to-quarter) compared to the fourth quarter of 2025.