Indonesia intervenes in markets as rupiah sets new record low

[JAKARTA] Indonesia’s central bank intervened in the foreign-exchange markets as the rupiah set a new record low.

Bank Indonesia intervened through offshore and domestic non-deliverable forwards, spot transactions and government bonds in the secondary market, Erwin Hutapea, executive director of monetary and securities management, said on Tuesday (May 5).

The rupiah dropped 0.2 per cent to 17,422 per US dollar on the day, marking an all-time low.

Investors are dumping assets of nations which are most impacted by the surge in oil prices following the Iran war, with the Indian rupee also falling to a new record low. The Philippine peso also weakened and is very close to an all-time low.

The central bank will continue to be present in the market to ensure market mechanisms function properly and to stabilize the rupiah in line with its fundamental value, Hutapea said. BLOOMBERG