The rupiah exchange rate against the US dollar weakened towards the weekend because the US dollar rebounded after the release of several economic data from the United States (US) that were stronger than expected.

At the start of trading Friday morning, the rupiah opened down 60 points or 0.38 percent to Rp. 15,729 per US dollar from the previous Rp. 15,669 per US dollar.

"The rupiah is expected to weaken against the US dollar which rebounded after several stronger than expected US economic data including manufacturing, unemployment claims and home sales," said currency analyst Lukman Leong to ANTARA in Jakarta.

Lukman said US initial unemployment claims amounted to 210 thousand in the week ending March 16 2024, lower than the estimate of 215 thousand.

US Manufacturing PMI March 2024 was recorded at 52.5, up compared to expectations of 51.7. Meanwhile, house sales in February 2024 were recorded at 4.38 million, an increase compared to the estimate of 3.94 million.

He projects that the rupiah today will move in the range of IDR 15,650 per US dollar to IDR 15,750 per US dollar.

Source: antaranews.com.

Mar 23, 2024