Indonesia’s central bank has reaffirmed its commitment to intervening in foreign exchange markets to support the rupiah, as a fresh global bond selloff and climbing oil prices heap renewed pressure on the currency. In a statement on Thursday, Erwin Hutapea, Executive Director for Monetary and Securities Management at the central bank, said the institution is carrying out “continuous intervention” through offshore and onshore non-deliverable forward markets, the spot market, and purchases of government bonds in the secondary market. “We are also strengthening pro-market monetary operations to manage the structure of money market interest rates,” he said.
The rupiah slipped as much as 0.6% to 17,904 against the U.S. dollar, marking its steepest intraday drop in three months, weighed down by elevated oil prices and a firmer greenback. The currency remains the worst performer in Asia on a year-to-date basis, dragged by concerns over a widening fiscal deficit and rising domestic policy uncertainty. Hutapea noted that coordination and communication with corporations and market participants are being intensified, adding that domestic exchange-rate pressure is being shaped by seasonal demand for foreign currency from importers at the end of the third quarter, along with capital outflows.