{
    "success": true,
    "data": {
        "id": 1609856,
        "msgid": "rupiah-weakens-as-debt-burden-increases-and-budget-performance-deemed-robbing-peter-to-pay-paul-1773373985",
        "date": "2026-03-13 09:58:00",
        "title": "Rupiah Weakens as Debt Burden Increases and Budget Performance Deemed \"Robbing Peter to Pay Paul\"",
        "author": "",
        "source": "VIVA",
        "tags": "bisnis",
        "topic": "Finance",
        "summary": "The rupiah weakened to 16,912 per US dollar on 13 March 2026, amid concerns over rising debt servicing costs and questionable budget performance. Although tax revenues grew over 30 per cent and budget absorption reached 41.9 per cent through February 2026, the primary balance deficit of 599.4 trillion rupiah suggests the government is taking on new debt to service existing obligations, with interest payments consuming 28.8 per cent of central government spending.",
        "content": "<p>The exchange rate of the rupiah against the US dollar is predicted to\nremain volatile, though it closed weaker in today\u2019s trading. Based on\nBank Indonesia\u2019s Jakarta Interbank Spot Dollar Rate (Jisdor), the rupiah\ntraded at 16,899 per dollar on Thursday, 12 March 2026, weakening by 99\npoints from the previous day\u2019s close of 16,867 on Wednesday, 11 March\n2026. By Friday, 13 March 2026 at 09:01 WM, the rupiah was trading at\n16,912 per dollar in the spot market, down 19 points or 0.11 per cent\nfrom 16,893.<\/p>\n<p>Economist and money market observer Ibrahim Assuaibi noted that\nbudget management through February 2026 showed positive performance on\nboth tax revenue and government spending fronts. Tax revenues grew over\n30 per cent, whilst budget absorption reached 41.9 per cent. However,\nlooking at the overall budget position, Indonesia\u2019s 2026 budget through\nFebruary demonstrates what could be described as a \u201crobbing Peter to pay\nPaul\u201d approach, evidenced by a primary balance deficit of 35.9 trillion\nrupiah.<\/p>\n<p>Debt servicing costs continue to rise significantly. The primary\ndeficit confirms that the government is drawing new loans to cover\nprincipal payments on existing debt. Estimated debt interest payments\nlast month reached 99.8 trillion rupiah, calculated as the difference\nbetween the overall budget deficit and the primary balance deficit. With\na total budget deficit of 135.7 trillion rupiah and a primary balance\ndeficit of 35.9 trillion rupiah, the difference yields the debt interest\npayment figure of 99.8 trillion rupiah. This represents 16.64 per cent\nof the 2026 debt payment allocation of 599.4 trillion rupiah.<\/p>\n<p>The estimated debt interest payments have increased by 25.8 per cent\ncompared to February 2025, when interest payments were estimated at 79.3\ntrillion rupiah. Notably, debt interest payments equal 28.8 per cent of\ntotal central government spending realised in February 2026, which\namounted to 346.1 trillion rupiah. This figure is substantially higher\nthan budget absorption for the Free Nutritious Meal Programme (MBG) at\n44 trillion rupiah as of 9 March 2026, or subsidies and compensation\nspending of only 51.5 trillion rupiah through February 2026.<\/p>",
        "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/rupiah-weakens-as-debt-burden-increases-and-budget-performance-deemed-robbing-peter-to-pay-paul-1773373985",
        "image": ""
    },
    "sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
    "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}