Jokowi Triumphs; Rupiah Advances  

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta – Analysts' prediction that the rupiah will still suffer from Prabowo Subianto's political statement did not happen. The announcement of Joko Widodo and Jusuf Kalla as presidential race winners provided the currency with a positive sentiment. After responding to Prabowo's "withdrawal" with a correction, the rupiah managed to rebound, closing Wednesday's trade with a 99-point (0.85 percent) gain at Rp11,508 per US dollar.

On Tuesday night, the Election Commission announced that the Jakarta governor won by a six-percent margin, garnering 53.15 percent of some 130 million votes that was casted on July 9. Investors responded to Jokowi's win by accumulating assets denominated in rupiah.

Juniman, chief economist at Bank Internasional Indonesia (BII), said the market is confident that, as president, Jokowi will improve Indonesia's economic performance and outlook. "Investors are responding to Jokowi's triumph by buying," he said.

However, the election euphoria is starting to subside as the rupiah gain begins to venture beyond the indicators of economic fundamental. Juniman believes the rupiah rate will now start to correspond to Indonesia's economic fundamentals, mowing between 11,700 and 11,800 per US dollar.

"The election euphoria cannot continue to be the foundation for the rupiah to appreciate," said Juniman.

Today the rupiah is expected to strengthen within a limited range of 11,500 to 11,600 per US dollar. The absence of significant development in the US economy will keep the greenback corrected, allowing the rupiah to breathe a little.

PDAT | MEGEL JEKSON