Rupiah Breaches 17,500, Purbaya: We Will Assist BI Little by Little

Finance Minister Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa stated that the government will assist Bank Indonesia in controlling the pressure on the rupiah exchange rate. On Tuesday, 12 May 2026, the rupiah was recorded weakening to around Rp17,500 per US dollar. “We will try to help the exchange rate; we will assist BI little by little if possible. We still have a lot of idle funds; we will intervene in the bond market so that the yields do not rise too high,” said Purbaya at the Ministry of Finance office in Central Jakarta on Tuesday, 12 May 2026. He explained that this step would be taken through an intervention scheme in the government securities market (bond market) by activating instruments available at the Ministry of Finance, including through the Bond Stabilization Fund (BSF) mechanism, although not all of the funds have been utilised yet. According to Purbaya, intervention in the bond market is necessary to keep yields from surging too high. By maintaining yield stability, he hopes that foreign capital flows will remain or even return, thereby supporting the rupiah’s strengthening. Purbaya also claimed that the government’s cash position is currently strong enough to support stabilisation efforts alongside Bank Indonesia. He assured that the 2026 State Revenue and Expenditure Budget (APBN) condition remains relatively safe. In the government’s internal calculations, the exchange rate assumption used in preparing the APBN is above the official assumption in the 2026 APBN Law at Rp16,500 per US dollar and not far from the current exchange rate position.