Jakarta, April 15, 2024 – Veteran commodity and currency analyst, Lukman Leong, projects that the rupiah exchange rate (IDR) will open with a sharp weakening today, Monday, April 15, 2024. Leong predicts the rupiah’s weakening range to be between IDR 16,000 to IDR 16,200 per US dollar.
According to Leong, the weakening of the rupiah this time was caused by a combination of internal and external factors. The main external factor is the strengthening of the US dollar in the past week. The strengthening of the US dollar was driven by higher-than-expected US inflation data, indicating the potential for a faster US Central Bank (Fed) benchmark interest rate hike.
On the other hand, contributing internal factors were Iran’s airstrikes on Israeli military targets in Syria. This geopolitical tension increased demand for the US dollar as a safe haven or hedge asset, pushing its value higher. Leong added that the weakening rupiah could impact various sectors, including the import sector, inflation, and people’s purchasing power. Therefore, Leong urged the government and Bank Indonesia (BI) to continue monitoring the situation and take appropriate rupiah stabilization measures.
