Indonesia central bank bills outstanding rise most in two years

[JAKARTA] The total amount of Indonesian central bank bills outstanding climbed by the most in almost two years last month as the monetary authority sought to attract capital inflows to support the weakening rupiah.

Bank Indonesia’s (BI) outstanding rupiah bills, known as SRBI, increased by 126.7 trillion rupiah (S$9.3 billion) in April, the most since July 2024, to a total of 957.91 trillion rupiah, according to central bank data released on May 9.

BI has been ramping up bill sales to support the rupiah, which has weakened more than 4 per cent this year and touched a succession of record lows. Central bank governor Perry Warjiyo has vowed to keep issuing SRBIs with higher yields and intensify both offshore and onshore intervention to bolster the currency.

The rupiah slipped as much as 0.3 per cent to 17,420 per US dollar on Monday, approaching its latest record low of 17,443 set last week. Overseas investors have cut their holdings of the nation’s stocks and bonds in recent weeks as the outbreak of the Iran war has driven up oil prices and soured the outlook for Indonesia’s economy.

Indonesia will hold off plans to establish a bond stabilisation fund for now, Finance Minister Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa said on Monday (May 11). The fund was intended to help reduce outflow pressure on the debt market and support the rupiah.

“The Bond Stabilization Fund is only activated during a crisis. Since this is not a crisis, we will use all available instruments to manage the situation,” he said, adding that the ministry will manage its cash reserves to help stabilise the bond market. BLOOMBERG