President Prabowo Subianto is not worried about the weakening of the\nRupiah against the US dollar. Prabowo believes that the decline in the\nRupiah\u2019s exchange rate does not directly impact people in rural\nareas.<\/p>\n
The Chairman of the Gerindra Party stated that many people often\nclaim that the Indonesian economy is in danger because the Rupiah\ncontinues to weaken. \u201cNow there are always people, for some reason I\ndon\u2019t understand, who keep saying that Indonesia will collapse, will be\nin chaos, and so on, right?\u201d he said in Nganjuk, East Java on Saturday,\nMay 16, 2026.<\/p>\n
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Prabowo asked that people not be too worried about the Rupiah\u2019s\nmovement against the dollar. The former defense minister said that\nIndonesia\u2019s condition is still safe compared to other countries,\nespecially in the food and energy sectors.<\/p>\n
He also responded calmly to the situation because people in villages\ndo not use foreign currency in their daily lives. Therefore, he is not\nworried about warnings from people about the weakening Rupiah. \u201cThe\nRupiah is like this, the dollar is like that. People in villages don\u2019t\nuse dollars, do they?\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
On Friday morning, May 15, 2026, the Rupiah had weakened to a level\nof Rp 17,600 per US dollar. This is the highest level since the Asian\nmonetary crisis in 1997-1998.<\/p>\n
Director of PT Traze Andalan Futures, Ibrahim Assuaibi, predicted\nthat the Rupiah exchange rate would break the level of Rp 18,000 per US\ndollar in May 2026. \u201cIf it breaks Rp 18,000 this May, there is a good\nchance that the Rupiah will break the level of Rp 22,000,\u201d said Ibrahim\nin a statement on Friday, May 15, 2026.<\/p>\n
He said that the last two days, namely Thursday, May 14 and Friday,\nMay 15, were a test for Indonesia. This is because, during the trading\nholiday due to the red date, geopolitical tensions in the Middle East\ncontinued to escalate.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, Ibrahim said, Bank Indonesia can only carry out\ninterventions in the international market during the holiday period.\nTherefore, the impact of external pressure on the Rupiah is even\ngreater. However, he said that the situation could be different when\ntrading resumes on Monday, May 18, 2026.<\/p>\n
From an external perspective, Ibrahim said that the strengthening of\nthe US dollar is influenced by the direction of policy by the central\nbank or The Federal Reserve (The Fed). The Fed is expected not to lower\ninterest rates throughout 2026 due to a significant increase in US\ninflation.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, from an internal perspective, Ibrahim highlighted the\nlarge pressure on the State Budget (APBN). This is because the weakening\nof the Rupiah has an impact on the surge in oil subsidy spending.<\/p>\n
Anastasya Lavenia Yudi contributed to the writing of this article<\/p>\n
Editor\u2019s Choice: Prabowo Inaugurates 1,061 Red and White Village\nCooperatives<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/rupiah-plummets-prabowo-people-in-villages-dont-use-us-dollars-1780617292", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }