Rupiah Extends Losses for 3rd Day

2026-03-03 06:11 By Farida Husna 1 min. read

The Indonesian rupiah weakened past IDR 16,850 per dollar on Tuesday, down for a third straight session as the U.S.

dollar firmed amid fears of escalation in the U.S.–Israel conflict with Iran.

Locally, Bank Indonesia signaled it remains open to further easing to support President Prabowo’s pro-growth agenda, following 150bps of rate cuts since September 2024.

Meanwhile, January’s trade surplus undershot forecasts as imports surged ahead of Ramadan and Eid al-Fitr.

Still, losses were tempered after the central bank pledged to curb volatility through forward operations and spot intervention.

Meanwhile, annual inflation hit a 35-month high of 4.76% in February, above the 1-1/2%–3-1/2% target range, largely due to base effects from last year’s electricity tariff discounts, but is expected to ease in the coming months.

Governor Perry Warjiyo remains confident inflation will stay mild in 2026–2027.

Markets now await February foreign reserve data after January’s drop from a nine-month high.



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