Rupiah Stays Fragile Near Record Low

2026-05-14 04:36 By Farida Husna 1 min. read

The Indonesian rupiah hovered near record lows of IDR 17,500 per dollar in thin holiday trading on Thursday, after briefly firming below 17,450 in the prior session.

A stronger U.S.

dollar dampened sentiment, while rising inflation reinforced expectations that the Fed will stay hawkish.

Concerns over Bank Indonesia’s ability to defend the currency resurfaced ahead of next week’s policy meeting, as some analysts call for a rate hike to 5.0% from the current 4.75% to stem capital outflows.

President Prabowo recently criticized Governor Warjiyo over the rupiah’s weakness while endorsing new measures, including tighter forex rules and liquidity tweaks.

Traders also remained cautious amid weak domestic fundamentals, declining reserves, fiscal strains, and persistent foreign selling.

Limiting losses, the government has launched a bond stabilisation fund to support debt markets amid rising yields.

So far this week, the rupiah has fallen about 0.5%, heading for a seventh straight weekly loss.



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