Antara News·Indonesia·Thursday, October 29, 2026 at 10:50 AM UTC

Minister Hartarto confident rupiah will stay below Rp19,000 per USD

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Bayu Saputra, Uyu Liman

Jakarta (ANTARA) - Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Airlangga Hartarto has expressed confidence that the Indonesian rupiah will not breach the threshold of Rp19,000 per US dollar, pointing to the country's resilient macroeconomic fundamentals.

"Let us see how things unfold, but we remain optimistic (that the rupiah will not breach Rp19,000 per US dollar). We have strong confidence in our macroeconomic fundamentals," Hartarto told reporters here on Wednesday (October 28).

In the spot market on Wednesday, the rupiah slipped 28 points, or 0.15 percent, to close at Rp18,184 per US dollar, weaken from Rp18,156 in the previous session.

Meanwhile, Bank Indonesia’s (BI) reference rate, the Jakarta Interbank Spot Dollar Rate (JISDOR), stood at Rp18,183 per US dollar.

The central bank noted that the depreciation of the rupiah and other regional currencies — which pushed the Indonesian currency toward the Rp18,200 level — was primarily driven by heightened geopolitical tensions in the Middle East.

"This conflict has kept crude oil prices elevated above US$115 per barrel, raising prospective fiscal risks. At the same time, market expectations for US interest rate hikes have also increased," Head of BI's Monetary and Securities Asset Management Department Erwin Gunawan Hutapea said.

Hutapea explained that escalating risk aversion across global markets has bolstered the US currency and triggered capital outflows from emerging markets amid surging US bond yields.

On the domestic front, the local currency faced additional pressure from investor concerns over a potential downgrade of Indonesia’s equity market status by index provider MSCI, alongside a seasonal rise in corporate foreign exchange demand ahead of the month-end.

Nevertheless, Hutapea stressed that the rupiah’s performance remains broadly in line with its regional peers.

On a monthly basis, the rupiah has depreciated by 1.15 percent. However, Indonesia’s foreign exchange reserves stood at a solid US$146.3 billion at the end of September, providing a substantial cushion against external volatility.

Hutapea reiterated that Bank Indonesia maintains an active market presence to manage liquidity and ensure the currency moves in line with economic fundamentals.

To stabilize the currency, the central bank routinely intervenes through the spot foreign exchange market, Domestic Non-Deliverable Forward (DNDF) and offshore Non-Deliverable Forward (NDF) markets, as well as secondary-market purchases of government bonds (SBN).

"Bank Indonesia continues to coordinate and communicate intensively with corporations, market participants, and other key stakeholders," Hutapea said.

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