Will the Rupiah Strengthen After Purbaya's Replacement? - Tempo.co English

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Indonesian rupiah is expected to strengthen against the US dollar following the replacement of Finance Minister Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa with Suahasil Nazara, financial analyst Lukman Leong said Tuesday, September 15.

“The rupiah has the potential to strengthen against the US dollar following the replacement of Purbaya by Suahasil as finance minister, which is expected to receive a positive response from the market,” Lukman of told ANTARA in Jakarta on Tuesday.

Suahasil was sworn in as finance minister under Presidential Decree No. 97P of 2026 on the Dismissal and Appointment of the Finance Minister for the Remainder of the 2024-2029 Term, issued by President Prabowo Subianto on September 14, 2026.

Before taking over as finance minister, Suahasil had served as deputy finance minister since October 2019. He retained the position following the change of administration in October 2024.

“Actually, investors are not welcoming the new finance minister so much as responding positively to Purbaya’s replacement. From what I have observed, investors had not been particularly supportive of Purbaya based on his responses, statements and views on economic issues,” Lukman said.

However, the rupiah’s gains are expected to be limited by still-high global crude oil prices and investors’ wait-and-see stance ahead of the Federal Open Market Committee’s (FOMC) interest rate decision on Wednesday, September 16.

“The Fed is almost certain to raise interest rates by 25 basis points to 4 percent,” he said.

Based on these factors, the rupiah is expected to trade between Rp17,550 and Rp17,700 per US dollar.

*]:pointer-events-auto R6Vx5W_threadScrollVars scroll-mb-[calc(var(--scroll-root-safe-area-inset-bottom,0px)+var(--thread-response-height))] scroll-mt-[calc(var(--header-height)+min(200px,max(70px,20svh)))]" dir="auto" data-turn-id="request-6a6c680a-51e4-83ec-b85a-76f2b465166c-94" data-turn-id-container="request-6a6c680a-51e4-83ec-b85a-76f2b465166c-94" data-testid="conversation-turn-192" data-turn="assistant">Read: JCI Rebounds From 2.5% Drop After Prabowo Replaces Purbaya