Indonesia Cuts Dollar Purchase Limit to $25,000 to Defend Rupiah Effective in June

Indonesia Cuts Dollar Purchase Limit to $25,000 to Defend Rupiah Effective in June

Jakarta. Bank Indonesia will cut the maximum amount of US dollars that can be purchased without underlying transactions to $25,000 starting next month, Governor Perry Warjiyo said.

The new limit is half the current ceiling and part of the central bank’s broader efforts to stabilize the rupiah, which has plunged to record lows in recent weeks.

By Tuesday afternoon, the rupiah had weakened beyond Rp 17,700 per US dollar, marking a fresh historic low and falling far below the Rp 16,500 exchange-rate assumption used in Indonesia’s 2026 state budget.

During a parliamentary hearing on Monday, Perry said Bank Indonesia had revised the dollar purchase limit several times this year, from $100,000 previously to $50,000 in April, and now further down to $25,000.

According to Bank Indonesia data, the proportion of dollar purchases made without underlying transactions declined to 6.5% after the $50,000 limit was introduced, compared with 10.8% during the January–March 2026 period.

With the new $25,000 cap, the share is expected to fall further to around 3.5%, Perry said.

He explained that the policy is part of the central bank’s intensified response to safeguard rupiah stability amid mounting global pressures, including geopolitical tensions in the Middle East.

Other measures aimed at supporting the rupiah include maintaining the benchmark BI Rate at 4.75% since January 2025 and raising yields on 12-month Bank Indonesia Rupiah Securities, or SRBI, to 6.41% in order to attract foreign capital inflows, Perry said.

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