The escalating tension on the Russia-Ukraine border drove market players to move to safe assets today, and this condition weakened the rupiah's exchange rate against the US dollar
Jakarta (ANTARA) - The rupiah's exchange rate against the US dollar weakened slightly in the Jakarta interbank market ahead of the weekend as growing geopolitical tensions between Russia and Ukraine kept investors cautious.

The Indonesian currency closed one point, or 0.01 percent, lower at Rp14,327 per US dollar compared to Rp14,326 per US dollar at the close of the previous trade.

“The escalating tension on the Russia-Ukraine border drove market players to move to safe assets today, and this condition weakened the rupiah's exchange rate against the US dollar,” money market expert Ariston Tjendra told ANTARA on Friday.

Ukraine’s military attack on separatist enclaves of Russian-backed LPR on Thursday (February 17, 2022) could trigger a Russian counter-attack, as was seen in Crimea in 2014, which also involved separatists operating in Ukraine, he said.

The United States and NATO have not released the war scenario for Ukrainian territory despite Russia’s denial, he added.

“Domestically, moreover, COVID-19 cases that have continued to rise, crossing the second wave’s peak last year, have fueled concerns among market players on national economic recovery, thereby weakening the rupiah,” Tjendra explained.

As of Thursday (February 17, 2022), the daily COVID-19 case count in the country touched 63,956, taking the total to 5.03 million cases, while the daily Omicron count reached 6,131 cases.

Early on Friday (February 18, 2022), the rupiah opened negative at Rp14,330 per US dollar. During the day, it traded in the range of Rp13,317–Rp14,346 per US dollar.

Meanwhile, Bank Indonesia’s Interbank Spot Dollar Rate (JISDOR) on Friday weakened to Rp14,339 per US dollar compared to Rp14,301 per US dollar the previous day.

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Translator: Citro Atmoko, Juwita Trisna
Editor: Sri Haryati
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