Bank Indonesia's Strategy to Maintain Rupiah Exchange Rate Stability During the 2026 Eid al-Fitr Holiday

JAKARTA - As a precautionary measure against rising global market volatility due to the Middle East conflict, Bank Indonesia has assured that it will maintain rupiah stability throughout the 2026 Eid al-Fitr holiday. Senior Deputy Governor of Bank Indonesia, Destry Damayanti, stated that although domestic financial markets will be closed during the Eid holiday, rupiah trading in foreign markets will continue, and its fluctuations could impact Indonesia’s economy. “Bank Indonesia will continue to optimise various monetary policy instruments to strengthen external resilience against potential escalation of the Middle East war, including taking necessary adjustment measures to remain consistent in maintaining national economic stability,” she said in a written statement on Thursday (19/3/2026). “During this long holiday, the domestic market is indeed closed, but markets abroad are not. This is what we are constantly on guard against; we monitor the market 24 hours for the US dollar-rupiah pair,” Destry remarked during the Bank Indonesia March 2026 RDG press conference on Tuesday (17/3/2026). Bank Indonesia will conduct monitoring through the offshore Non-Deliverable Forward (NDF) market, which remains operational. In addition, Bank Indonesia is maintaining close coordination with its overseas representatives, including in New York, United States, to ensure that policy responses can be implemented swiftly if significant pressure on the rupiah occurs. “So we will continue (to monitor financial market dynamics), even though we are on Eid holiday,” said Destry. In certain conditions, Bank Indonesia does not rule out the possibility of direct intervention in the global NDF market to dampen exchange rate volatility. “If needed, we will also enter the market to carry out interventions,” she stated. Bank Indonesia assesses that the situation has the potential to pressure emerging market currencies, including the rupiah. For the record, the rupiah exchange rate on 16 March 2026 stood at Rp 16,985 per US dollar, or weakened by 1.29% (point to point) compared to the end of February 2026. Meanwhile, throughout March 2026, the rupiah recorded a depreciation of around 1.29% (month-to-date).