Rupiah Opens 0.14% Stronger, US Dollar Falls to Rp17,800
The rupiah exchange rate began trading this morning by strengthening against the United States (US) dollar. The Garuda currency received a boost after the US dollar slumped in global markets.
Based on Refinitiv data, the rupiah opened trading on Thursday (20/8/2026) with a 0.14% gain to Rp17,800/US$.
The strengthening came a day after Bank Indonesia (BI) held its benchmark interest rate at 5.75% during the August Board of Governors Meeting (RDG).
Meanwhile, the US dollar index (DXY), which measures the greenback against six major world currencies, was observed at 09.00 WIB to have weakened slightly by 0.01% to 98.833.
This morning’s decline extended the pressure from the previous trading session. On Wednesday, the DXY closed down 0.83%, approaching its lowest level in three months.
The US dollar came under pressure after the US Treasury Department announced measures to ease turmoil in the government bond market.
The US government plans to double its buyback operations for long-term bonds to maintain market liquidity. The policy was announced after a massive sell-off pushed the yield on 30-year US Treasury bonds to 5.337%, its highest level since 2007.
After the measure was announced, the 30-year bond yield gradually fell to around 5.184%.
The decline in yields reduced the appeal of dollar-denominated assets. This condition pressured the greenback and provided room for emerging market currencies, including the rupiah, to strengthen.
However, the market continued to monitor the minutes of the US central bank, The Federal Reserve (The Fed), which showed that several officials still left open the possibility of raising interest rates if inflation has not yet returned to the 2% target.
Meanwhile, Bank Indonesia’s (BI) decision to hold the BI Rate at 5.75% also provided certainty for the market regarding the direction of monetary policy.
BI Acting Governor Destry Damayanti emphasised that the rupiah exchange rate is expected to remain stable going forward, supported by the central bank’s efforts to optimise its monetary instruments.
“BI is pursuing a strategy of maintaining exchange rate stability. Going forward, the exchange rate will be stable, supported by BI’s strengthening stabilisation,” said Destry on Wednesday (19/8/2026).