REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA -- The Rupiah exchange rate at the interbank transaction in Jakarta on Friday afternoon depreciated by 10 points to Rp13,751. The previous position was Rp13,741 per US dollar.

FXTM Research Analyst Lukman Otunuga in Jakarta said on Friday that currency movements in the Asian region, including of the Rupiah, were likely to experience pressures due to higher expectations of the Fed rate hikes.

"The hawkish comments from Fed Chairman Powell fuelled market speculation that the US interest rates will rise by four times in 2018," he said.

Nevertheless, he continued, the movement of the Rupiah is still relatively stable and investors must understand Indonesia's economic sentiment and that it remains positive.

Binaartha Securities analyst Reza Priyambada added that the positive sentiment about inflation in February this year was enough to help hold the Rupiah currency against pressure.

The Indonesian rupiah's exchange rate against the US dollar will continue to be volatile until March 20-21 when The Federal Reserve announces its reference rate policy, Bank Indonesia (BI) Governor Agus Martowardojo has predicted. He said afterwards, the condition will be stable.

"For Indonesia, we realize the dynamics and see it as normal. The Fed is expected to raise its rate in March. Afterwards, the condition will be stable," he said on the sidelines of BI-IMF Summit on "New Growth Models in a Changing Global Landscape" in Jakarta on Tuesday (Feb 27).

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