Rupiah Firms Further After Strong GDP Data

The Indonesian rupiah hovered around IDR 18,080 per U.S. dollar on Thursday, up for a second straight session as the dollar index continued to fall, with traders remaining focused on the implications of Democratic gains in the U.S. midterm elections. Locally, sentiment found support from stronger economic data, with Q3 GDP growth accelerating to 5.47% yoy, beating expectations on resilient private consumption and solid manufacturing output. The 2026 state budget targets 5.4% growth, although Finance Minister Suahasil recently indicated that expansion could slightly exceed the target, reaching 5.5%. Meanwhile, Bank Indonesia's two-stage reserve requirement reduction for conventional commercial banks, from 9% to 8% effective Nov. 1 and further to 7% on Dec. 1, is expected to inject liquidity around IDR 190 trillion into the banking system without compromising rupiah defenses. Traders now await October forex reserves data due Friday, following September's print of a near five-month high.