Hit By Two Sentiments, The Rupiah Weakened Slightly Wednesday Morning To Rp15,648 Per US Dollar

Illustration. (Photo: Bank Indonesia)

JAKARTA - The rupiah exchange rate on the spot market weakened during the match on Wednesday April 15. Based on VOI's observation, at 09:24, the rupiah moved down 0.02 percent to a level of Rp15,648 per US dollar (US).

Head of Research at Monex Investindo Furures, Ariston Tjendra, said there were two contradicting sentiments in the market this morning. Positive sentiment from the potential for the immediate opening of lockdowns in countries with the epicenter of the pandemic such as the US and Europe following China because the COVID-19 cases seem to have started to slope.

"On the other hand, negative sentiment comes from the IMF's negative projection of global economic growth in 2020 due to the outbreak that has pushed the lockdown," Ariston told VOI.

The financial reports of several issuers that have begun to be released can also show the negative impact of the outbreak on company performance.

"This negative sentiment could encourage market players to refrain from entering into risky assets, including the rupiah," he said.

This tug of war on positive and negative sentiments, said Ariston, might bring the rupiah to stay in the range of IDR 15,600-15,750 per US dollar.

Currency movements in various regions tend to be in the green zone. The South Korean won was the biggest strengthening currency after gaining 0.32 percent. Followed by the Taiwan dollar which strengthened 0.22 percent and the Japanese yen which appreciated 0.18 percent.

Next was the Malaysian ringgit, which rose 0.16 percent. Then there is the Thai baht and the Philippine peso, which rose by 0.05 percent and 0.04 percent, respectively.

Meanwhile, the Chinese yuan became the currency with the deepest weakness after falling 0.04 percent against the US dollar. Then there was the Hong Kong dollar which weakened slightly by 0.01 percent.