JAKARTA (Reuters) – The Indonesian central bank said it is ready to intervene to stabilise the rupiah, which on Wednesday stayed close to its lowest levels since 1998 even as officials said market sentiment was positive and economic fundamentals were resilient.
There was positive sentiment in domestic stocks, bonds and the foreign exchange market, said Fitra Jusdiman, Bank Indonesia’s director of monetary and securities asset management.
He would not comment on whether the central bank had intervened on Wednesday, but said BI always monitored the market and was ready to step in to support the rupiah.
On Tuesday, the rupiah weakened past 16,600 per dollar to hit its lowest levels since the Asian financial crisis in 1998.
The rupiah was trading at 16,585 per dollar as of 0738 GMT on Wednesday, LSEG data showed.
The economy remains fundamentally resilient, Solikin M. Juhro, BI’s head of macroprudential policy, told reporters, citing economic growth of around 5%, low inflation and manageable foreign loans.
“Fundamentally, we remain well,” he said, adding Indonesia is “totally different” and more resilient now than it was in 1998 during the Asian Financial Crisis.
Chief economic minister Airlangga Hartarto separately told reporters the country’s economic fundamentals remain strong despite the rupiah’s drop.
(Reporting by Stefanno Sulaiman; Editing by John Mair)
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