Rupiah Opened To Slightly Weakened 9 Points To Rp14,699 Per US Dollar

JAKARTA - The rupiah exchange rate on the spot market was opened lower in trading Friday, October 16. The rupiah opened down 9 points to a level of Rp14,699 per US dollar (US).

Monex Investindo Futures Head Researcher, Ariston Tjendra, said that the rupiah today will be overshadowed by several sentiments. For one thing, the US government under Donald Trump overnight still opened the possibility that stimulus would be released before the election.

"Trump is raising his bid to approach the bid from the Democrats. Talks are still ongoing. This US stimulus could help the US economy recover," Ariston told VOI .

The Trump administration's stance, said Ariston, could provide positive sentiment for riskier assets and potentially encourage the weakening of the US dollar against other currencies including the rupiah.

"Domestically, controlled demonstrations, trade balance surplus can also help strengthen the rupiah today. Today's rupiah has the potential to move in the range of Rp14,650-14,750 per US dollar.

Director of TRFX Garuda Berjangka Ibrahim added that the rupiah has also received sentiment from the market which continues to oversee Brexit talks, along with the deadline for the pact on the closer relationship between the European Union and Britain.

In addition, the market is also waiting for the development of the red and white vaccine, which has reached 55 percent. If the COVID-19 vaccine is successful, the rupiah will have additional strength to further strengthen against the US dollar.

According to Ibrahim, another sentiment that makes the rupiah is the trade balance data. The Central Statistics Agency (BPS) released export and import data in September 2020 which printed a surplus of 2.44 billion US dollars.

He said that the economic recovery in the fourth quarter is expected to support the movement of the rupiah exchange rate. Ibrahim admitted that in the third quarter, economic growth was confirmed to have contracted.

However, signals of economic recovery can be seen since DKI Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan re-implemented the transitional status for large-scale social restrictions (PSBB) in Jakarta.