Domestic market closed, Bank Indonesia continues to monitor rupiah in offshore market
Bank Indonesia (BI) has ensured it will continue to monitor the rupiah exchange rate in offshore or foreign markets whilst the domestic market is closed for a week during Nyepi and Eid al-Fitr, amid persisting high levels of global uncertainty resulting from Middle Eastern tensions.
BI Governor Perry Warjiyo has confirmed that BI will remain in the market, not only in the domestic market but also in offshore markets, to safeguard rupiah exchange rate stability continuously.
“We may take a holiday here for Lebaran, but the offshore Non-Deliverable Forward (NDF) market continues to operate and BI New York will also continue to monitor the rupiah abroad,” said Perry during a press conference on BI’s Recent Decision Group results held online in Jakarta on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, Senior Deputy Governor Destry Damayanti has also confirmed that BI will remain vigilant and monitor the rupiah-dollar market through NDF around the clock.
Although the domestic market is closed for Lebaran, BI is coordinating with BI New York to continue monitoring and is prepared to intervene in the global NDF market if required.
Amid very high volatility and uncertainty, Destry has ensured that BI remains focused on maintaining rupiah stability.
“We will make all possible efforts, as also stated by the Governor, such as we usually do, with interventions in the spot, DNDF and NDF markets in the global marketplace,” she said.
Additionally, Destry noted that monetary operation instruments are also being optimised to provide attractive yields, thereby continuing to support stability amid rising global risks.
As an illustration, Destry noted that throughout March, the rupiah depreciated by 1.29 per cent on a month-to-date (mtd) basis, lower than several regional currencies, such as the Indian rupee at 1.52 per cent and the Philippine peso at 3.71 per cent.
“This means that we in this region are facing the same problems. But at Bank Indonesia, we will certainly continue to focus on maintaining that stability,” she said.
She added that trading through local currency transactions (LCT) continues to increase. In February 2026, total LCT transactions reached USD 4.12 billion, with the largest share being with China at USD 3.026 billion.
This trend, Destry noted, demonstrates increasing demand for transactions using currencies other than the dollar in Indonesia.
BI is continuing to promote the deepening of the local currency financial market, such as the yuan (CNH/CNY), so that market participants no longer need to purchase dollars to conduct conversions.
“This will certainly also serve to reduce demand for dollars in the domestic market, since the demand is directly for the currency of the relevant partner country,” said Destry.