Rupiah Breaches 17,500 per US Dollar, Purbaya Prepares to Intervene in Bond Market

JAKARTA, KOMPAS.com - Finance Minister Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa has responded to the weakening of the rupiah exchange rate against the US dollar, which has now breached the level of Rp 17,500 per dollar.

Purbaya stated that the government will begin activating several market stabilisation instruments from Wednesday (13/5/2026), including intervention in the state bond market or Government Securities (SBN).

“We will start helping tomorrow, perhaps by entering the bond market. We have the BSF but it hasn’t been fully funded; we will activate the instruments we have here. It will only start tomorrow,” said Purbaya at the Ministry of Finance office on Tuesday (12/5/2026).

According to Purbaya, entering the bond market is necessary to prevent SBN yields from surging too high amid global financial market pressures and the weakening rupiah.

He explained that a sharp rise in yields could trigger investment value losses or capital losses for foreign investors holding Indonesian government bonds.

Therefore, the government is striving to maintain stability in the debt securities market to avoid increasing pressure on foreign capital flows.

The rupiah’s weakening is occurring amid rising global uncertainties, including sentiments around high US interest rates and market concerns over international geopolitical conditions that are driving a broad strengthening of the US dollar.

Based on Bloomberg data, the rupiah opened at Rp 17,479 per US dollar, weakening by 0.37 percent compared to the previous day’s close at Rp 17,414 per US dollar.

The rupiah’s weakening aligns with the majority of Asian currencies also under pressure against the US dollar. The South Korean won experienced the deepest weakening in Asia, plummeting by 0.89 percent.