Rupiah Falls 15 Points to Close at Rp13,759/Dollar on Wednesday

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Indonesian rupiah fell 15 points against the US dollar to close at Rp13,759 at the Jakarta inter-bank spot market on Wednesday evening after it traded at Rp13,744 previously. According to observer Rully Nova, external factors, particularly trade war remain one of the factors causing the rupiah's exchange rate to weaken in money market.

"Many market agents are still worried about the impact of the trade war on the global economy, which may fearfully hamper the domestic economic growth," the observer of Bank Woori Saudara Indonesia Tbk said on Wednesday.

Read also: Rupiah Predicted to Strengthen as Dollar Rate Depreciates

The sentiments towards the Fed Rate hike this year and market agents' stand to await the US non-farm payroll (NFP) have also influenced the movement of the rupiah, he said.

"The NFP report is one of the much-awaited issues because it is the US economic indicator," he said.

On the domestic side, the controllable inflation rate which reached 3.40 percent year-on-year and fairly high foreign exchange reserves which amount to US$128.06 billion as of February 2018 show conducive domestic economy.

"The domestic sentiments are still quite conducive, thus preventing the rupiah from depreciating further," he said.

According to Bank Indonesia's mid rate on Wednesday, the rupiah strengthened to Rp13,760 from Rp13,765 per dollar previously.

ANTARA