Jakarta riot: Rupiah drops to Rp 14,512 per US dollar

The rupiah dropped to Rp 14,488 per US dollar on Wednesday from Rp 14,462 per dollar the previous day, according to the Jakarta Interbank Spot Dollar Rate (JISDOR) following riots after incumbent President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo was declared the winner of the presidential election.

Bloomberg data, meanwhile, showed that the rupiah stood Rp 14,512 per US dollar at 10:23 on Wednesday, weakening by 0.22 percent from the previous day. 

Futures firm Monex Investindo Futures analyst said the political situation had brought uncertainty. “Last night’s riots corrected the rupiah [further],” he said as quoted by kontan.co.id, adding that the rupiah was expected to weaken further.

The riots reportedly resulted in the deaths of six people, while 200 others were left injured.

Asset management firm



Sucorinvest Asset Management executive chairman Jemmy Paul said investors felt uneasy over the impact of the announcement of the presidential election.

“The security and political instability will cloud trading in [the coming days] and next week,” Jemmy said on Wednesday.

Similar sentiments were made by another Monex Investindo Futures analyst, Ahmad Yudiawan, who said that the post-presidential election announcement would affect the rupiah exchange rate in addition to external factors.

Meanwhile, futures firm PT Garuda Berjangka president director Ibrahim stressed that although the General Elections Commission (KPU) had announced the winner of the presidential election, political tensions had not eased.

“Security risks are still high, which causes concern for investors,” Ibarhim said. (bbn)