Monday Afternoon Rupiah Strengthened Thinly To IDR13,639 Per US Dollar

JAKARTA - The rupiah exchange rate strengthened 6 points or 0.04 percent at the level of Rp13,639 per US dollar at the close of trading today, Monday, January 20.

Head of Research at Monex Investindo Futures, Ariston Tjendra, said the strengthening of the rupiah was still due to the issue of improving trade relations between the US and China.

"But because this issue has been a bit old, meaning that the market has long anticipated it, the strengthening of the rupiah will not be too big today," Ariston told VOI, Monday, January 20.

Even though it is strengthening, the rupiah tends to move within a narrow range. This happened because the market tended to be cautious while waiting for the Bank Indonesia Board of Governors (RDG) Meeting to be held on January 22-23.

Based on a Bloomberg survey, 25 out of 29 economists still predict that BI will keep its benchmark interest rate at 5 percent on Thursday, January 23.

Meanwhile, four other economists predict that there will be cuts due to the sharp strengthening of the rupiah in recent weeks.