Rupiah Weakens Sharply: What Are the Causes and Impacts on the Economy?
JAKARTA, KOMPAS.com - The rupiah exchange rate against the US dollar continues to face pressure.
The rupiah rate in the spot market weakened this afternoon, touching Rp 17,346 per US dollar.
The rupiah exchange rate is even projected to move fluctuatively and could reach Rp 17,350 to Rp 17,400 per US dollar in trading next week.
Researcher from the Center of Macroeconomics and Finance at INDEF, Abdul Manap Pulungan, explained that on the other hand, Indonesia’s foreign exchange reserves as of March 2026 are at a level deemed quite small, namely $148.2 billion.
“Indeed, one of the things that must be done besides intervention in the market is for BI, the Ministry of Finance, and the Financial System Stability Coordination Forum to provide positive signals, not just narratives,” he said during the Public Discussion “2 Months of the Israel-US vs Iran War: Beware of Impacts on the Economy,” on Thursday (30/4/2026).
He added that the rupiah issue is not just a monetary problem, but also a fiscal one that encompasses energy resilience.
“This is a signal to the government; the level of global investor confidence is declining, as seen from how investors are offloading portfolios domestically,” he further stated.
A combination of these factors is pressuring the rupiah exchange rate to weaken further against the US dollar.
Manap explained that three instruments attracting foreign funds—stocks, Government Securities (SBN), and Bank Indonesia Rupiah Securities (SRBI)—are currently under pressure.
Therefore, strengthening the rupiah at this time is the responsibility of many parties from those three sectors, in addition to interventions that can be carried out by BI.
Manap revealed that indicators of rupiah exchange rate stability in the first quarter of 2026 indeed show weakening compared to the same period last year.
He highlighted the 5-year credit default swap (CDS) rate, which in the first quarter of 2026 has reached 101.28 percent compared to 95.36 percent last year.