The Forge Plans to Safeguard Rupiah in a Turbulent Market

On Tuesday, Apr. 16, President Joko Widodo convened a limited meeting at the State Palace to address the global economic turmoil and the increasing pressure on the rupiah. Following the meeting, Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Airlangga Hartarto stated that several factors contributed to the rupiah's decline, including Iran's attack on Israel and sticky inflation in the United States. It has led to capital outflows from emerging markets like Indonesia, weakening the rupiah to over Rp 16,000 per US dollar.

Despite these challenges, Airlangga assured that Indonesia's exchange rate remains relatively stable compared to other developing nations. He stated that the government is discussing various scenarios to address this situation. "We will implement several policies, including a mix of fiscal and monetary measures, maintaining exchange rate stability, managing the state budget and expenditures, and monitoring logistics costs and oil price increases," he said. The Chairman of the Golkar Party expressed confidence that investors still view Indonesia's economy positively.

Bank Indonesia Governor Perry Warjiyo emphasized the central bank's commitment to intervene in the currency markets to stabilize the rupiah's value. "We will implement interventions through spot and non-delivery forward transactions," he stated. Perry reiterated the importance of close coordination between the central bank and the government to maintain monetary and fiscal stability. "Rest assured, we are actively engaged in the market to ensure stability," he affirmed.