The Indonesian rupiah traded around IDR 17,900 per U.S. dollar on Friday, struggling to distance itself from the IDR 18,000 level touched earlier in the week. Sentiment remained under pressure from a persistently strong U.S. dollar, which held near an 18‑month high on expectations of further Federal Reserve tightening amid elevated inflation and heightened geopolitical risks in the Middle East.
Bank Indonesia Governor Destry Damayanti attributed the latest rupiah weakness to global factors, shifts in capital flows, and vulnerabilities in Indonesia’s external-sector fundamentals. Domestically, headline inflation in September quickened to a three‑month high, driven by sustained food price pressures, in part linked to El Niño‑related disruptions.
For the week, the rupiah is poised to record its third straight weekly loss, down about 0.1% so far. Market participants now turn their attention to next week’s releases of September foreign-exchange reserves, consumer confidence figures, and August retail sales data.
