Rupiah Weakens Slightly as US Dollar Rises to Rp16,865
Jakarta — The value of the Indonesian rupiah ended in a depreciation zone against the US dollar during Wednesday trading (11 March 2026).
Based on Refinitiv data, the rupiah closed at Rp16,865 per US dollar, depreciating by 0.06%. This movement reversed the currency’s direction compared to previous trading, when the rupiah had appreciated quite sharply by 0.47% to Rp16,855 per US dollar.
Throughout today’s trading, the rupiah actually opened stronger. At the beginning of the session, the rupiah was recorded as appreciating by 0.21% to Rp16,820 per US dollar. However, this appreciation did not hold until close and eventually reversed into negative territory.
Meanwhile, the US dollar index (DXY) at 15.00 WIB was recorded strengthening by 0.03% to 98.858.
The rupiah’s weakness in today’s trading indicates that the domestic currency remains insufficiently strong to maintain its appreciation momentum, despite the US dollar moving stably globally.
In global markets, the US dollar moved up slightly as market participants awaited developments in the US-Israel conflict against Iran. Mixed signals regarding the possibility of easing the conflict have left investor sentiment fragile.
Markets had previously hoped that US President Donald Trump would push for conflict resolution in the near term. However, on the other hand, Trump has repeatedly issued strong threats against Iran, particularly if Tehran attempts to disrupt energy supply routes through the Strait of Hormuz.
Domestically, markets also monitored government fiscal developments after Finance Minister Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa affirmed that the budget deficit, which has widened since the start of the year, is indeed part of budget design.
“Some say last year there was a surplus, so why is there a deficit this year? Well, our budget design does indeed have a deficit,” Purbaya said at a budget press conference on Wednesday (11 March 2026).
He explained that the large deficit in early year occurred because government spending moved faster.
Throughout January-February 2026, the budget recorded a deficit of Rp135.7 trillion, with government spending reaching Rp493.8 trillion and government revenue at Rp358 trillion. The government also affirmed that it is now promoting more evenly distributed spending patterns throughout the year.
“Now we are enforcing more evenly distributed spending throughout the year so that the impact of government spending and other factors on the economy is more felt,” Purbaya said.