Rupiah at All-Time Weakest, US Dollar Now Breaches Rp17,490

Jakarta, CNBC Indonesia - The rupiah exchange rate experienced a significant depreciation against the US dollar on Tuesday’s trading (12/5/2026). According to Refinitiv data, the Garuda currency closed 0.49% weaker at Rp17,490/US.Thispositionmarkstheweakestclosinglevelfortherupiahinrecenthistory.Pressureontherupiahwasevidentfromthestartoftrading.Therupiahopened0.43. Throughout the session, the rupiah’s weakening deepened, breaching the psychological level of Rp17,500/US.TherupiaheventouchedanintradaylowofRp17, 525/US. Although it closed slightly better than the day’s weakest level, the rupiah remained under pressure and ended the trading in negative territory. Meanwhile, the US dollar index (DXY) at 3:00 PM WIB was observed strengthening 0.29% to 98.236. Bank Indonesia Senior Deputy Governor Destry Damayanti explained that the pressure on the rupiah in today’s trading intensified due to a combination of external and domestic factors. “The pressure on the rupiah today increased because the conflict in the Middle East is still ongoing with increasing intensity. This condition is driving up oil prices and increasing global uncertainty,” said Destry on Tuesday (12/5/2026). From the domestic side, Destry said demand for the US dollar also rose due to seasonal factors, such as foreign debt payments, dividend payments, and needs for the Hajj pilgrimage, which are boosting dollar demand in the domestic market. Destry emphasised that BI will continue to be present in the market to maintain rupiah exchange rate stability. “BI will remain committed to always being in the market by conducting smart interventions, both in the spot market, DNDF, and NDF. BI will also optimise the use of all monetary operation instruments so that it is hoped to reduce pressure on the rupiah,” she said. Despite the rupiah being under pressure, Destry assessed that foreign investor confidence in Indonesian portfolio assets continues to improve. “BI also sees that foreign investor confidence in portfolio assets continues to improve. This is reflected in inflows, particularly to the SBN and SRBI markets during April amounting to Rp61.6 trillion,” she revealed. In addition, Destry mentioned that foreign exchange liquidity in the domestic market remains sufficiently high. This is reflected in the year-to-date growth of third-party funds (DPK) in foreign currency, which reached 10.9% at the end of March. With these conditions, BI expects the seasonal pressure on the rupiah to ease. The rupiah exchange rate is expected to return to moving in line with its fundamental levels. Meanwhile, the government has signalled it will assist Bank Indonesia in controlling the rupiah exchange rate pressure against the US dollar. Finance Minister Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa said the assistance will be carried out through interventions in the bond market, utilising the Bond Stabilization Fund (BSF) scheme. “We will start helping tomorrow. Perhaps by entering the bond market, that’s the BSF, but not the entire fund yet. We will activate it in the instruments we have here first, starting tomorrow,” said Purbaya at his office in Jakarta on Tuesday (12/5/2026). Nevertheless, Purbaya emphasised that the government still places full trust in Bank Indonesia in maintaining rupiah exchange rate stability.