Rupiah Weakens Amidst Escalation of U.S.-Iran Conflict
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9 January 2020 05:51 WIB
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The rupiah weakened against the US dollar at the Jakarta interbank market on Wednesday evening owing to the escalation of the United States-Iran conflict.
The rupiah fell 22 points or 0.16 percent to close at Rp13,900 per US dollar compared to Rp13,878 per US dollar the previous day.
"On Wednesday, Iran launched a series of missiles at two US airbases in Iraqi bases as their first response to the killing of General Qassem Suleimani due to the US airstrike," PT Garuda Berjangka Director, Ibrahim Assuaibi, said in Jakarta on Wednesday.
On Wednesday morning, Iran reportedly attacked the Al-Asad airbase housing US troops in Iraq several hours after the funeral of the commander of Iran's elite Quds military force.
Qassem Soleimani was killed in a US drone strike in Baghdad, raising fears of a wider war in the Middle East.
On the domestic side, Bank Indonesia (BI) released data of the country's foreign exchange reserves in December 2019 at US$129.18 billion, up by US$2.5 billion compared to US$126.63 billion the previous month. In the morning trading, the rupiah weakened to Rp13,915 per US dollar. Throughout the day, the rupiah moved within the range of Rp13,900 per US dollars to Rp13,938 US dollar.
According to the BI mid-rate, the rupiah weakened to Rp13.934 per US dollar on Wednesday compared to Rp13,919 per US dollar.
ANTARA
