Rupiah on 5-day Correction; Waits for Fed Meeting

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta – Yesterday's currency trade saw the rupiah losing 61 points (0.5 percent) to close at 12,169 per US dollar, its fifth consecutive day of correction since Wednesday last week. Meanwhile, other Asian currencies tended to strengthen against the greenback, following decelerating growth rate in the US services and housing sectors.

The increasing demand for US dollar in the domestic market makes it difficult for the rupiah to escape from the greenback pressure. Money market analyst Lindawati Susanto said investors are still waiting for the Fed's meeting, to see what the US central bank would do once it ended its monetary stimulus program.

"Investors tend to avoid risks by switching their portfolios into US dollars," she told Tempo yesterday.

Market participants are also still shrouded in uncertainties regarding the fuel price hike. Since announcing the names of his cabinet ministers on Monday, President Joko Widodo has yet to mention anything about fuel price hikes. Meanwhile, the market is already surrounded by rumors that fuel prices would be raised at the beginning of November.

For today, Lindawati predicted the currency rate to move between Rp12,100 and Rp12,200 per US dollar. 

PDAT | M. AZHAR