How Bank Indonesia Plans to Keep the Rupiah Stable
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Bank Indonesia (BI) said it would maintain rupiah stability during the 2026 Eid al-Fitr holiday period as global market volatility rises amid escalating conflict in the Middle East.
Senior Deputy Governor Destry Damayanti said rupiah trading in the offshore market would continue even while Indonesia’s domestic financial markets are closed for the holiday, creating the potential for fluctuations that could affect the national economy.
Destry said the central bank would closely monitor offshore rupiah trading and any resulting volatility, noting that movements in the offshore market could influence domestic economic conditions once trading resumes.
To contain pressure on the currency, BI said it would optimize a range of monetary policy instruments to stabilize the rupiah and strengthen Indonesia’s external resilience. The measures are aimed at anticipating further escalation in the Middle East conflict, which could add pressure to global financial markets. Reuters reported on March 17 that BI had kept its benchmark interest rate unchanged while signaling that the war in the Middle East had limited room for further monetary easing.
The central bank also said it remains open to policy adjustments if needed to safeguard macroeconomic stability amid global uncertainty.
According to Antara, the rupiah closed at Rp16,997 per U.S. dollar in Jakarta trading on Tuesday, March 17, 2026. On the same day, the Jakarta Interbank Spot Dollar Rate (JISDOR) was recorded at Rp16,982 per U.S. dollar.
Bank Indonesia said the rupiah had weakened 1.29 percent point-to-point as of March 16, 2026, compared with the end of February 2026. The central bank said the depreciation was broadly in line with weakness in other non-U.S. dollar currencies.
BI also reported that portfolio investment in March 2026 recorded a net outflow of US$1.1 billion, driven by heightened uncertainty in global financial markets amid the war in the Middle East.
Earlier, cumulative capital and financial flows in January-February 2026 still posted a net inflow of US$1.6 billion. However, Indonesia’s trade balance in January 2026 narrowed to a US$1 billion surplus, down from US$2.5 billion in December 2025, due to weaker demand for non-oil and gas exports.
Despite those pressures, Indonesia’s foreign exchange reserves remained at US$151.9 billion at the end of February 2026, according to BI. The central bank said the reserves were equivalent to 6.1 months of imports, or 5.9 months of imports and government external debt payments, well above the international adequacy standard. BI disclosed the reserve level in a statement issued on March 6.
Regional pressure on Asian currencies has also intensified as oil prices surged and investors sought safe-haven assets amid the widening Middle East conflict, according to a Reuters poll published on March 19.
Read: Jakarta MRT to Apply Rp1 Fare on Eid Holiday
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