Jakarta. Rupiah weakened further against the US dollar on Tuesday as investors weighed a change in Indonesia’s finance minister, renewed Middle East tensions and expectations for the Federal Res erve’s rate decision.

The rupiah closed at Rp17,694 per US dollar, down 25 points or 0.14% from Monday’s close of Rp17,669, according to exchange data.

Traze Andalan Futures Director Ibrahim Assuaibi said the currency’s weakness came as Suahasil Nazara formally took over as finance minister from Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa on Tuesday.

“Suahasil Nazara’s appointment will strengthen confidence in fiscal discipline and the deficit framework, which remains below 3%,” Ibrahim said in a statement on Tuesday.

However, Ibrahim said Suahasil faces a significant challenge in balancing fiscal discipline with the government’s ambitious growth agenda. Under the 2027 draft state budget, the government is targeting 6% economic growth while setting state spending at Rp4,097.2 trillion.

“Suahasil must manage the state budget amid the government’s need to accelerate economic growth, fund priority programs, deal with global energy price pressures, while maintaining investor confidence in Indonesia’s fiscal health,” he said.

Externally, the rupiah also came under pressure from prolonged tensions in the Middle East after Yemen’s Houthi group launched further attacks on Saudi Arabia on Monday, raising concerns over global oil supplies.

The currency also weakened ahead of the US Consumer Price Index (CPI) report due Friday, as investors assessed whether the data could reinforce expectations for a 25-basis-point Fed rate hike at this week’s meeting.

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