Purbaya: Rupiah Depreciation Still Better Compared to Neighbouring Countries

Jakarta – Finance Minister Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa has assured the public that the rupiah’s depreciation since the Iran-US-Israel conflict began remains moderate and compares favourably to currency weakness experienced by neighbouring nations.

According to Purbaya, the rupiah has depreciated moderately in line with broader US dollar strength globally and is performing relatively better than many peer countries.

“The rupiah has depreciated 0.3 per cent month-to-date, far better than the currencies of surrounding countries,” Purbaya stated during a press conference for the March 2026 State Budget presentation on Wednesday, 11 March 2026.

He cited comparative figures showing that the Malaysian ringgit depreciated 0.5 per cent month-to-date, whilst the Thai baht declined 1.6 per cent. The Philippine peso depreciated 1.4 per cent, and the Singapore dollar fell 0.3 per cent month-to-date.

“This reflects Indonesia’s external resilience and strong fiscal-monetary coordination,” he said.

Purbaya acknowledged that many citizens had expressed criticism regarding the rupiah’s weakness through social media. He urged the public to make fair assessments and understand the rupiah’s true position compared with other currencies.

“Our rupiah is still performing well, meaning we are still regarded as maintaining good fiscal and monetary policies with a reasonably solid economic foundation,” Purbaya said.

He expressed hope that Indonesia’s maintained positive economic fundamentals would continue to support the strengthening of the domestic capital market, particularly equity investments.

“If the fundamentals remain strong, stock prices will gradually increase to better levels,” he added.

On Wednesday, 11 March 2026, by 09:12 WIB, the rupiah traded at Rp 16,858 per US dollar on the spot market, appreciating 5 points or 0.03 per cent from the previous level of Rp 16,863 per dollar.

Economist and money market observer Ibrahim Assuaibi expressed concern that Indonesia’s foreign exchange reserves are being depleted due to rupiah weakness stemming from global pressures, particularly the impact of the US-Israel-Iran conflict.

“Indonesia’s foreign exchange reserves position in February 2026 has already thinned further, leaving just US$151.9 billion, declining from the January 2026 opening position of US$154.6 billion,” he noted.