Fitch Says Destry Becoming BI Governor Helps Strengthen Rupiah

International rating agency Fitch Ratings views positively the sole nomination of Destry Damayanti as candidate for governor of Bank Indonesia (BI), replacing Perry Warjiyo who resigned effective 25 July 2026.

The nomination of the BI Senior Deputy Governor as the only gubernatorial candidate, together with internal central bank officials to fill the vacant senior deputy governor and deputy governor seats, is seen as reinforcing expectations of policy continuity.

“The nomination has helped reduce pressure on the rupiah, but is unlikely to eliminate investor caution,” according to a Fitch Ratings report, Wednesday (26/8/2026).

Even so, Fitch highlighted whether Destry will still realise the signals of continuity going forward.

“Institutional continuity at Bank Indonesia should support market sentiment, although confidence may remain fragile,” Fitch said.

As is known, the rupiah exchange rate opened stronger against the United States (US) dollar in trading on Wednesday (26/8/2026), after the market was closed for the Prophet Muhammad’s Birthday holiday on Tuesday.

Referring to Refinitiv data, the rupiah opened positive or appreciated by 0.20% to Rp17,670/US$.

The strengthening reversed the pressure seen in Monday’s trading (24/8/2026), when the Garuda currency closed down 0.11% at Rp17,705/US$.

Meanwhile, the US dollar index (DXY), which measures the greenback’s strength against six major world currencies, was observed at 09.00 WIB to have weakened slightly by 0.01% to 98.905. The DXY extended its 0.09% decline from the previous session.