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View all search resultsPushing rupiah to 15,000 per dollar ‘not that difficult’, says Purbaya
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Lights from LCD projectors shine on Finance Ministry Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa's face before he sits down to brief the press about what the ministry has done to fix the faulty Coretax system, at the Finance Ministry's press room in Jakarta on Oct, 24, 2025. (JP/Deni Ghifari)
F
inance Minister Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa says pushing the rupiah exchange rate back up to 15,000 per United States dollar should not be that difficult as the currency is undervalued when taking into account Indonesia’s economic fundamentals.
The minister said in a panel interview at the Indonesia Economic Summit in Jakarta on Tuesday that currencies of other countries in the region, namely the Thai baht, Malaysian ringgit, Singapore dollar and Vietnamese dong, had all strengthened against the greenback recently, unlike the rupiah.
“So, we are kind of an outlier right now. To me, it's a bit weird, but it's not my job,” said Purbaya, arguing that maintaining exchange rate stability was Bank Indonesia’s (BI) remit.
“I think, right now, going toward 15,000 to the dollar would not be that difficult. I cannot talk on behalf of the central bank, but if I were in their position, that level wouldn't be that hard to attain,” he added.
Indonesia’s currency has largely held steady at around 16,700 per US dollar since the last week of January following volatility bouts in last month’s second and third week that reached a peak when President Prabowo Subianto’s nephew Thomas Djiwandono was nominated as a BI deputy governor on Jan. 19.
Read also: Prabowo's nephew enters race for senior central bank post
Readings from Investing.com show the rupiah hitting a low of Rp 16,987 per dollar on Jan. 20, which is the lowest level the currency has ever reached since the historic low of Rp 17,300 during the Asian financial crisis of 1997 to 1998.
