On Friday, Rupiah Strengthened 100 Points To Rp. 15,540 Per US Dollar

JAKARTA - The rupiah exchange rate was opened stronger on Friday 17 April trading. The rupiah opened up 0.64 percent or 100 points to Rp15,540 per US dollar.

Monex Investindo Futures Head Researcher Ariston Tjendra said this morning the market was overwhelmed by positive sentiment for risky assets with the plan to open a lockdown to activate the economy by some European countries and the US due to the spread of the plague that had started to slope.

"President Donald Trump announced guidelines for opening lockdowns which consist of 3 phases. As many as 29 states could start opening lockdowns in the near future," Ariston told VOI.

In addition, positive sentiment also came from news of progress in the manufacture of COVID-19 drugs by a US company, Gilead Sciences.

Some of the positive sentiments mentioned above may be able to mask the negative sentiment that may come from China's GDP data for the first quarter of 2020 which is predicted to be minus 6.2 percent and China's industrial production data for March which is predicted to fall 7 percent.

"The rupiah has the potential to strengthen today with the potential to strengthen to the range of Rp15,450.15,700 per US dollar," he said.