Purbaya Denies Rupiah at Rp17,400/US$ Due to Weak State Budget

Finance Minister Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa stated that he has heard many sentiments suggesting that the current pressure on the rupiah exchange rate is due to the shaky condition of the State Revenue and Expenditure Budget (APBN). He said that the rupiah’s pressure, now hovering above Rp17,400/US$, is not caused by government fiscal matters. In fact, government fiscal policy is one of the supports for Indonesia's high economic growth at present. "Many people are also saying that Indonesia's fiscal position is shaky, which is why the rupiah is weakening. But if we look at our energy resilience, it is very strong," Purbaya said during a press conference at his office in Jakarta on Tuesday (5/5/2026). According to Purbaya, the APBN deficit is still maintained below the safe limit of 3% of GDP. As of the end of March 2026, the deficit was Rp240.1 trillion or 0.93% of GDP. In detail, state revenues reached Rp574.9 trillion or 18.2% of the APBN, a figure that grew by 10.5%. State expenditure realisation reached Rp815.0 trillion or 21.2% of the APBN, growing 31.4% (year-on-year), much faster than the previous year. "If there is a global crisis, we are number two in strength compared to other countries. Even above the United States, above China, above Australia, etc., this is data from JP Morgan," Purbaya said. As is known, the rupiah exchange rate was observed to weaken against the US dollar after the release of Indonesia's Q1-2026 economic growth data this afternoon, Tuesday (5/5/2026). Citing Refinitiv data, at 11:15 WIB, the rupiah was at Rp17,425/US$, depreciating by 0.35%. This weakening continued the pressure seen since the morning trading opening, when the rupiah opened down 0.09% at Rp17,380/US$. Pressure on the rupiah occurred alongside the announcement by the Central Statistics Agency (BPS), which reported Indonesia’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth in Q1-2026 at 5.61% year-on-year (yoy), higher than market expectations. On a quarterly basis, the Indonesian economy contracted by 0.77% (quarter-to-quarter).