Indonesia central bank "heavily" intervenes to defend rupiah: traders

[SINGAPORE] Indonesia's central bank was spotted "heavily" intervening to defend the rupiah on Wednesday, traders said, as the currency fell to a level last seen during the Asian financial crisis 17 years ago.

The rupiah was down 1.6 per cent to 13,820 per dollar as of 0450 GMT, after hitting 13,825, its weakest since July 1998.

Bank Indonesia Senior Deputy Governor Mirza Adityaswara told Reuters earlier that the central bank will guard the rupiah against volatility, adding that the currency's depreciation does not reflect economic fundamentals.

He declined to comment further.

One trader in Jakarta said he believed the central bank had spent no more than US$400 million on Wednesday to support the rupiah.

REUTERS