Rupiah Predicted To Strengthen Today

Rupiah illustration. (Photo: Bank Indonesia)

JAKARTA - The rupiah exchange rate opened up slightly at the opening of trade on Monday, February 17th. This morning, the rupiah opened up 0.11 percent to Rp13,678 per US dollar.

Based on VOI's observation, at 09.18 WIB, the rupiah had moved to weaken to a level of Rp13,685 per US dollar. Head of Research at Monex Investindo Futures, Ariston Tjendra, said that the Central Bank of China re-injected 200 billion yuan of funds this morning.

"So that risk assets look stronger, including the rupiah," said Ariston to VOI.

In addition, he continued, the 10-year tenor US bond yield fell back to the range of 1.58 percent, which could prevent the rupiah from weakening against the US dollar and possibly encourage rupiah appreciation against the US dollar.

"But the corona virus still seems to be a market concern. Moreover, the market doubts the data announced by the Chinese government. Last Sunday, China reported an increase in the number of new cases and deaths due to the corona virus which is the same as approaching the previous increase with new methods," he explained.

He explained, Friday night Heathrow Airport, England, detained eight planes on suspicion of a passenger who had the corona virus.

"This concern can still reduce risk assets today, including the rupiah. The rupiah has the potential to move in the range of Rp. 13,670-13,720 per US dollar today," he said.

The strengthening of the rupiah this morning is in line with the majority of currencies in the region. The Thai baht was the highest strengthening currency after rising 0.13 percent against the US dollar. Following on, the Taiwan dollar lifted 0.07 percent.

Then, the Singapore dollar and the Korean won both rose 0.05 percent. The Hong Kong dollar also managed to slightly increase by 0.01 percent.

Meanwhile, the Philippine peso became the currency with the deepest weakness against the US dollar after weakening 0.24 percent. Followed by the Malaysian ringgit and Japanese yen, which each fell 0.04 percent and 0.03 percent.