Rupiah strengthens slightly as foreign exchange reserves rise
The rupiah closed slightly stronger against the US dollar after data showed an increase in Indonesia’s foreign exchange reserves in August.
Jakarta (ANTARA) - The rupiah against the US dollar at Monday’s close strengthened by 2 points, or 0.01 per cent, to Rp17,640 per US dollar, compared with the previous close of Rp17,642 per US dollar.
Lukman Leong, a currency analyst at Doo Financial Futures, said the rupiah’s slight appreciation was influenced by the rise in Indonesia’s foreign exchange reserves in August 2026, although it remained constrained by a number of external sentiments.
“The rupiah closed slightly stronger against the US dollar after data showed an increase in Indonesia’s foreign exchange reserves in August,” Lukman told ANTARA in Jakarta on Monday.
Bank Indonesia (BI) recorded Indonesia’s foreign exchange reserves at the end of August 2026 at US$146.5 billion, or around Rp2,584.26 trillion, an increase of US$1.2 billion, or about Rp21.17 trillion, from the end of July 2026 at US$145.3 billion, or roughly Rp2,563.09 trillion.
The increase was mainly driven by tax and service receipts as well as the government’s drawing of external loans, amid government external debt payments and BI’s rupiah exchange rate stabilisation policy.
However, Lukman said the rupiah’s strengthening remained limited as investors weighed the geopolitical escalation in the Middle East and awaited a number of key economic data releases from home and abroad.
“In the short term, although the rupiah’s upward momentum remains strong, external volatility is expected to continue to dominate and potentially restrain further appreciation of the rupiah,” he said.
Rully Nova, an analyst at Bank Woori Saudara, also assessed that external pressure on the rupiah remained high, particularly due to rising global oil prices and the potential for capital outflows amid financial market volatility stemming from the geopolitical escalation.
“From the global side, pressure on the rupiah remains high due to oil prices rising above US$95,” Rully said.
Brent crude traded above US$95 per barrel, or around Rp1.68 million per barrel, on Monday, as tensions between the United States and Iran intensified.
In the short term, Rully viewed that the rupiah still faced capital outflow risks due to financial market volatility amid the escalating geopolitical conflict.
Meanwhile, money market observer Ibrahim Assuaibi said stronger-than-expected US jobs data had also led markets to scrutinise the prospects for US central bank interest rate policy, or the Federal Reserve (The Fed).
“The strong job additions allow The Fed to focus more on the inflation aspect of its mandate,” Ibrahim said.
According to Ibrahim, market participants are next watching the US Consumer Price Index (CPI) and Producer Price Index (PPI) data, which could influence expectations regarding the direction of The Fed’s interest rates.