Annisa Febiola, Jakarta – The rupiah is expected to depreciate further against the US dollar today, June 24, according to Laba Forexindo Berjangka director Ibrahim Assuaibi. In last Friday's trading, the rupiah closed at 16,450 per US dollar, down from 16,438 on Thursday, June 20, 2024.
"The rupiah exchange rate is likely to fluctuate and close lower in the range of Rp16,440 – Rp16,510," Ibrahim said in his routine analysis.
Ibrahim stated that the rupiah should not have to depreciate for long if the supply of dollars from the trade balance surplus flows into the market.
"The rupiah's depreciation is an anomaly because Indonesia still has a fairly good trade surplus until May 2024," he added.
Externally, retail sales data for May released last week was not very significant and the labor market also appeared to be weakening. The number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits fell from the previous week, but was still higher than expected.
Meanwhile, Fed officials left policy unchanged at their June meeting. In doing so, the central bank trimmed its projections for rate cuts even as inflation eased and the labor market weakened.