Rupiah hits 17-year low, BI to intervene if needed

Jakarta

INDONESIA's rupiah dropped to a 17-year low against the US dollar on Thursday, pressured by slowing economic growth and high inflation in South-east Asia's largest economy.

The rupiah fell 0.4 per cent to 13,281 against the dollar, the weakest level since August 1998 when Indonesia was in the depths of a financial crisis that led to the ouster of former president Suharto.