Rupiah Under Pressure Against Dollar, BI Chief Urges Citizens to Use Local Currency

Bank Indonesia (BI) is continuing its efforts to stabilise the rupiah while supporting the government’s drive to maintain robust economic growth. The central bank is also urging the public to help safeguard the currency’s stability by using the rupiah as their primary means of transaction. This was conveyed by BI’s Senior Deputy Governor, Destry Damayanti, during the CNBC Indonesia Economic Update 2026. “The rupiah is our shared currency, so to maintain its stability, BI cannot do it alone. I also want to invite all citizens, the entire Indonesian nation, to work together to protect the rupiah,” Destry said, as quoted on Wednesday (24/6/2026). To maintain exchange rate stability, BI has recently issued several new policies, including limiting US dollar purchases to a maximum of $10,000. However, this restriction is intended to improve governance, not to prohibit the use of US dollars domestically. “We are reorganising the demand for rupiah. We do not intend to restrict the use of US dollars, but there must be an underlying transaction. Without it, it becomes speculative,” she explained. Destry also encouraged the public to continue using the rupiah for domestic transactions as a show of support for stabilising the national currency. “We are improving the existing governance for retail and other sectors, so if there is no need for US dollars, let’s use rupiah. In our domestic market, we pay for everything with rupiah,” she added. “I urge everyone, the task of safeguarding the rupiah is our collective responsibility,” she concluded. Pressure on the rupiah has yet to subside. The currency opened trading on Wednesday (24/6/2026) in the red against the US dollar, weakening 0.36% to Rp17,900 per USD, amid a strengthening greenback in global markets. This continued the previous day’s decline, where the rupiah closed 0.06% weaker at Rp17,835 per USD. Meanwhile, the US Dollar Index (DXY), which measures the greenback against six major world currencies, was up 0.03% to 101.432 as of 09.00 WIB, marking its strongest level in 13 months.