Purbaya Initially Feared Economic Downturn, But Data Brought Relief

Jakarta, CNBC Indonesia - Finance Minister Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa admitted he was initially worried that the Indonesian economy would fall in the second quarter of 2026, after managing to grow rapidly in the first quarter of 2026 at 5.61% year-on-year. He said this concern arose after many people discussed on social media that the Indonesian economy would decline because the first quarter 2026 growth did not reflect real conditions. “Initially I was worried that the second quarter would fall sharply,” said Purbaya during a working meeting with Committee IV of the DPR, Jakarta, Monday (22/6/2026).

Nevertheless, Purbaya admitted he did not remain silent and tried to look at broader economic data. For example, looking at credit growth data, which as of May 2026 was able to grow by almost 12%. “From this I was somewhat relieved, it turned out to be quite strong and in May I said credit growth grew double digits, meaning there is real activity in the economy,” he stressed.

In addition, he also looked at other data that now makes him relieved. For example, data on public consumption which still shows an increase, based on the Mandiri Spending Index (MSI) as of May at a level of 123.2. He confirmed that the Consumer Confidence Index in May 2026 was still moving at an optimistic level, although there was a slight decline to a level of 120.9. Meanwhile, car and motorcycle sales actually jumped by 55% and 28.1% respectively, from previously minus 138% and 17.1% in March 2026.

He also emphasised that total electricity sales were still growing high at around 19%, in line with the increase in household electricity consumption of 23%, business 11.9%, and industry 17.1%. On the other hand, Purbaya stressed that domestic cement consumption data was also still able to rise significantly to support the implementation of government programmes with growth of 35.6%, and manufacturing performance was also able to rise to a level of 50% based on S&P Global’s Purchasing Manager’s Index data.

“So there is indeed a real improvement in people’s purchasing power, so this figure supports the first quarter 2026 growth figure of 5.61%. So if we look at our GDP data and compare it with other data, is it inline or not? It seems now it is still inline,” stressed Purbaya.