Rupiah Has A Chance To Strengthen, Market Highlights Fed's Decision And Funds Of IDR 200 Trillion

JAKARTA - The rupiah exchange rate in trading Wednesday, September 17 is expected to move higher against the United States (US) dollar.

To note, citing Bloomberg, on Tuesday, September 16, the rupiah spot exchange closed lower by 0.15 percent to the level of Rp. 16,440 per US dollar. Meanwhile, the Jakarta Interbank Spot Dollar Rate (Jisdor) exchange rate of Bank Indonesia (BI) closed up 0.12 percent to a price level of Rp. 16,385 per US dollar.

Currency observer Ibrahim Assuaibi said that in the Fed meeting scheduled for September 16' 17, apart from almost certainly cutting interest rates by 25 basis points, the market will also pay close attention to the projected Fed's future policies and economic projection updates.

According to Ibrahim, these factors will serve as a reference in determining the direction of monetary policy until the end of the year.

Meanwhile, he said that the political dynamics in Washington were heating up after the Senate confirmed the appointment of Stephen Miran, US President Donald Trump's economic adviser, as a member of the Fed's Board of Governors.

"Investors view this appointment as a sign that the central bank can face stronger pressure to align itself with the White House policy," he said in his statement, quoted Wednesday, September 17.

On the other hand, Ibrahim said that the US appeals court blocked President Donald Trump's attempts to remove Fed Governor Lisa Cook.

Thus, he explained that Cook will most likely remain present at the Fed meeting this week and, Donald Trump is expected to take the case to the Supreme Court.

Meanwhile, from within the country, Ibrahim said that the market responded negatively to the policy of the Minister of Finance which disbursed funds amounting to Rp200 trillion, which previously deposited in Bank Indonesia to be channeled by banks into credit.

According to him, although this policy was initially welcomed positively by the market because it was considered to be able to encourage economic growth, it is currently considered to have a political nuance to attract public sympathy.

Ibrahim added that the policy actually has the potential to violate the constitution and at least, there are indications of violations of the three laws as well as political ones in order to get public sympathy.

Meanwhile, the Government itself denies this assumption, stating that this policy aims to strengthen the role of the State General Treasurer in managing cash actively and optimally, as applied in the practice of cash management (treasury management) in developed countries.

In addition, Ibrahim said that the Government also emphasized that the funds placed in banks would still be recorded, supervised, and could be withdrawn whenever necessary.

However, according to Ibrahim, disbursement of such a large amount of funds should go through a good and transparent legislative process, starting from the discussion in the APBN and it must be explained systematically how much funds are needed and for which programs the funds will be used.

He emphasized that the process of drafting, stipulating, and allocation of the state budget is strictly regulated by the 1945 Constitution Article 23, Law no. 17 of 2003 concerning State Finance, as well as the State Budget Law which is stipulated annually.

"The official procedure and rules of state administration must be implemented because the state budget is included in the public sphere, not the private budget or company. The correct policy process must be carried out based on the rules of the game, because otherwise the public budget precedent will be used arbitrarily in the future," he explained.

He also added that state officials are required to obey the rules and formulate policies based on the Government Work Plan (RKP) which comes from ministries, institutions, and local governments, so that no programs suddenly appear without going through careful planning.

Ibrahim estimates that the rupiah will fluctuate but close higher in trading on Wednesday, September 17, 2025, in the price range of IDR 16,400 - IDR 16,450 per US dollar.