Rupiah Slides, Worst Performer in Asia Year-to-Date

2025-09-24 05:47 By Farida Husna 1 min. read

The Indonesian rupiah weakened past 16,650 per dollar on Wednesday, its lowest level since late April, as the central bank has cut its policy rate by a total of 150 bps since September 2024 and markets anticipate further aggressive easing.

At the same time, concerns persist over Bank Indonesia’s independence following its “burden sharing” role in financing government spending, while President Prabowo Subianto pushes ahead with an ambitious plan to lift GDP growth to 8% from the current 5%.

Adding to pressure, parliament has approved the 2026 budget with a deficit of 2.68% of GDP, higher than the 2.48% initially proposed but still below this year’s forecast of 2.78%.

Year to date, the rupiah has slipped 3%, making it Asia’s worst-performing currency and prompting repeated interventions by Bank Indonesia.

Globally, the dollar index edged above 97.3, snapping a two-day decline after Fed Chair Jerome Powell signaled caution on further policy easing.



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