Rupiah Potentially Strengthens Again Driven By Internal Sentiment

JAKARTA - The rupiah exchange rate in trading Wednesday, April 24, 2024 is expected to continue strengthening the United States (US) dollar.

Quoting Bloomberg, the Rupiah exchange rate on Tuesday, April 23, 2024, the rupiah spot exchange rate closed higher by 0.10 percent to the level of Rp. 16,220 per US dollar. Meanwhile, the Jakarta Interbank Spot Dollar Rate (Jisdor) exchange rate closed lower by 0.12 percent to a price level of Rp. 16,244 per US dollar.

Director of PT Profit Forexindo Berjangka Ibrahim Assuaibi said the dollar was still near the highest level in five months reached in early April, due to fading expectations of early interest rates by the Fed, making traders invest more and more in greenback.

Ibrahim said this puts most of Asia's currencies under pressure.

In addition, the European Union's foreign ministers agreed to expand sanctions against Iran following Tehran's missile and drone attacks on Israel.

"Investors are waiting for the release of US gross domestic product figures and personal consumption spending data in March 2024 on the Fed's choice of inflation this weekend to assess the direction of monetary policy," he explained in his official statement, quoted Wednesday, April 24.

From an internal point of view, Ibrahim conveyed the decision of the Constitutional Court (MK) which rejected all petitioners for all of them, both Paslon 01 and Paslon 03, according to decision No. 1/PHPU.PRES-XXII/2024. This is the final stage after the Constitutional Court conducted a marathon trial for 14 working days.

According to Ibrahim, the results are quite positive for investment and the business world. Because, in principle, there are two things that are considered by economic stakeholder decisions. The first is certainty, which is related to risks.

Ibrahim said that the Constitutional Court's decision tends to be accepted by some people and relatively does not cause political and social turmoil. This kind of stability provides positive incentives because the level of risk becomes small, so that the investment and economic certainty side becomes more measurable.

"The second consideration is the yield factor, or the level of profit. In this context, the Indonesian economy offers abundant potential. Starting from natural resources, superior commodities, to local domestic demand which reaches 280 million people," he explained.

According to Ibrahim, the growth of Indonesia's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is significantly supported by household consumption. This means that the increase in added value, manufacturing and investment still have a large portion and potential to increase the GDP ratio.

"The Constitutional Court's decision is a breath of fresh air for the national economy. In parallel, geopolitical conditions and global economic policies are not supporting and the nationality of candidate pair 01 or candidate pair 03 makes Indonesian politics more conducive," he said.

Ibrahim estimates that the rupiah will fluctuate but close higher in trading Wednesday, April 24, 2024, in the price range of IDR 16,180 - IDR 16,260 per US dollar.