Jakarta. Rupiah weakened past the psychological level of Rp 18,000 per US dollar on Thursday morning, pressured by renewed demand for the greenback as escalating tensions in the Middle East lifted oil prices and strengthened safe-haven flows.

Bloomberg data showed the rupiah opened 37 points, or 0.21%, lower at Rp 18,003 per dollar in spot trading as of 9:05 a.m. Jakarta time. The currency's decline came despite a slight easing in the US Dollar Index, which slipped 0.08% to 99.445.

The latest drop followed Wednesday's session, when the rupiah closed 127 points weaker at Rp 17,966 per dollar after briefly touching Rp 17,969 intraday.

According to MarketScreener, the US Dollar Index remained near a two-month high of 99.447 after reaching its strongest level since April 7 on Wednesday.

The dollar remained supported as renewed conflict in the Middle East pushed global oil prices higher, reinforcing demand for traditional safe-haven assets.

Sim Moh Siong, a foreign-exchange strategist at OCBC, said the outlook did not support further weakness in the US dollar. He added that major central banks remained broadly neutral and that the greenback was expected to trade within a relatively stable range.

Elsewhere in Asia, the Japanese yen traded at 159.91 per dollar, recovering from Wednesday's low that saw it briefly weaken beyond the closely watched 160 threshold for the first time since April 30. The level is widely viewed by markets as a trigger point for potential intervention by Japanese authorities.

The euro was little changed at $1.1604 per dollar, while the British pound traded at $1.3424.

Risk-sensitive currencies were mixed, with the Australian dollar steady at $0.7132 and the New Zealand dollar rising 0.2% to $0.5872, recovering from a one-week low.