Rupiah Badly Weakened Against Asian Currencies, Only Gains Against Indian Rupee

JAKARTA – The Indonesian rupiah’s exchange rate has managed to strengthen only against the Indian rupee throughout 2026 to date, whilst weakening against the majority of other Asian currencies. This situation is viewed as indicating that pressure on the rupiah is not solely influenced by global factors.

Permata Bank economist Josua Pardede stated that the rupiah has experienced weakness against nearly all regional Asian currencies, with the deepest depreciation occurring against the Malaysian ringgit and Singapore dollar.

“What is more interesting is that we have only strengthened against the Indian rupee. Beyond that, we have weakened against all other Asian currencies,” Pardede said during a media briefing on Friday (22 May 2026).

Additionally, the rupiah has also depreciated 5.2 per cent against the Hong Kong dollar, 5.4 per cent against the Taiwan dollar, and 8.3 per cent against the Chinese yuan. The deepest rupiah weakness has occurred against the Malaysian ringgit, reaching 8 per cent on a year-to-date basis.

Pardede assessed that the rupiah’s weakness this year appears inconsistent with movements in the US Dollar Index (DXY). The reason being that throughout this year the DXY has only strengthened by around 0.9 per cent, whilst the rupiah has weakened more than 5 per cent against the US dollar.

“If you look at listed company dividend payment schedules, there are many scheduled in May. So it is quite natural that there is an increase in dollar demand in the second quarter. Wherever you put that demand, it cannot reverse,” he explained.

For context, throughout May 2026 the rupiah has repeatedly set record lows throughout its history. Beginning from a decline to the level of Rp 17,400 on 5 May, to Rp 17,500 on 12 May, and weakening further to Rp 17,600 on 15 May to the present. This has caused concern amongst the public.

At Friday’s close of trading, the rupiah weakened by 50 points or 0.28 per cent to the level of Rp 17,717 per US dollar compared with the previous day’s close.