Rupiah Closes Weaker at Rp17,862 per US Dollar Today
The rupiah exchange rate closed 64 points weaker at Rp17,862 per US dollar in trading today, Tuesday (18/8), from the previous close of Rp17,798 per US dollar.
For trading tomorrow, economist and currency & commodities observer Ibrahim Assuaibi predicts the rupiah will be volatile but close weaker in the range of Rp17,860 to Rp17,920 per US dollar.
From the domestic side, Ibrahim said the rise in crude oil prices above US$83 per barrel increases the country’s foreign exchange burden for energy imports. High demand for crude oil imports forces businesses and the government to make payments denominated in US dollars.
“The surge in demand for US dollars to purchase crude oil on the global market strengthens the position of the US currency and pressures the rupiah exchange rate,” he said in a statement received on Tuesday (18/8).
Furthermore, Bank Indonesia recorded Indonesia’s external debt position at US$453.4 billion, or approximately Rp8,089.1 trillion. The position grew 4.4% year-on-year (yoy).
The figure increased compared with Indonesia’s external debt position in May 2026, which was recorded at US$444.4 billion, or approximately Rp7,928.5 trillion. External debt developments in the second quarter of 2026 show that Indonesia’s external debt remains manageable, supported by an increase in public external debt and a lower contraction in private external debt.
Government external debt in the second quarter of 2026 was recorded at US$216.3 billion, or approximately Rp3,860.4 trillion, growing 2.9% (yoy). This growth was lower than the growth in the first quarter of 2026 of 3.8% (yoy).
“The development of government debt was mainly influenced by inflows into Government Securities (SBN), reflecting investor confidence in Indonesia’s maintained economic prospects,” he explained.
In addition, Bank Indonesia began a two-day Board of Governors Meeting on 18-19 August 2026. The monetary policy decision will be announced on Wednesday (19/8). “BI is expected to maintain the BI Rate at 5.75% after raising interest rates aggressively by a total of 75 basis points throughout April-June 2026,” he said.
Besides the interest rate decision, Ibrahim continued, the market will observe BI’s views on rupiah stability, domestic inflation, banking liquidity conditions, and credit growth prospects until the end of the year.
“BI’s stance and guidance will be one of the determinants of the rupiah’s next direction amid global uncertainty, after a fairly aggressive stabilisation phase over the past few months under the leadership of Mr Perry Warjiyo as governor of Bank Indonesia,” he concluded.