Rupiah Weakens Beyond Rp 17,105, BI Prepares to Intervene in All Markets

JAKARTA, KOMPAS.com - Bank Indonesia (BI) has commented on the rupiah’s weakening today due to the escalation of conflict between Iran and the United States (US) and Israel. At the close of trading on Tuesday (7 April 2026), the rupiah weakened to the level of Rp 17,105 per US dollar, or down 70 points or 0.41 percent from the previous day. Senior Deputy Governor of BI, Destry Damayanti, stated that the central bank will not stand idly by with the rupiah weakening today. BI will optimise the use of all monetary operation instruments it possesses to prevent the rupiah from weakening further. “Amid very high global uncertainty, stability is currently the top priority for Bank Indonesia,” she said in a written statement on Tuesday (7 April 2026). However, it should be remembered that the impact of the Middle East conflict is two-way. This means that this geopolitical tension not only has a negative impact but also a positive impact on the national economy. Destry explained that this conflict triggers an increase in commodity prices, so Indonesia’s export products will experience an increase. “The rise in commodity prices and Indonesia’s position as an exporting country can provide a positive effect on our economy, thereby offsetting the pressure on the exchange rate due to this escalation,” she clarified. In the BI Board of Governors Meeting for the March 2025 period, BI noted that the rupiah exchange rate weakened by 1.29 percent (mtm) on 16 March 2026 compared to the end of February 2026. The rupiah’s weakening aligns with the weakening of other countries’ currencies. The deteriorating global situation due to the Middle East war impacts the weakening of exchange rates and the outflow of capital from emerging market countries, including Indonesia. Nevertheless, BI will continue to maintain rupiah exchange rate stability by increasing the intensity of interventions both in the foreign NDF market (off-shore) and spot and DNDF transactions in the domestic market. In addition, BI is also optimising all monetary instruments to increase foreign capital inflows to support rupiah exchange rate stability. Going forward, various efforts to strengthen balance of payments performance are expected to support rupiah exchange rate stability.