Rupiah Breaks Rp18 Thousand per US Dollar, Istana: We Have Strong Economic Fundamentals

Minister of State Secretary (Mensesneg) Prasetyo Hadi/DOK ANTARA

JAKARTA - The Minister of State Secretary (Mensesneg) Prasetyo Hadi emphasized that the government continues to monitor the development of the rupiah exchange rate which is under pressure to break through the level of Rp18,000 per US dollar (USD).

He said the government did not stand still and continued to coordinate intensively with various related authorities to maintain national economic stability in the midst of global financial market dynamics.

"Regarding the rupiah problem, we the government, in this case the Ministry of Finance, then Bank Indonesia, then also the Financial Services Authority continue to coordinate intensively to continue to monitor and then take steps," said Prasetyo at the Presidential Palace complex, Jakarta, Thursday, June 4.

According to Prasetyo, the government believes that Indonesia's economic fundamentals are still in a strong position.

This is reflected in the continued economic growth and the still controlled inflation rate.

The government, continued Prasetyo, will continue to monitor various economic indicators and prepare the necessary steps to maintain national economic stability amid external pressures that affect exchange rate movements.

"We must be sure that the economic fundamentals reflected in economic growth, then from inflation which is still maintained, God willing, we actually have a fairly strong economic fundamentals," he said.

The rupiah exchange rate in Thursday afternoon trading closed down 0.46 percent to Rp18,049 per US dollar from the previous Rp17,966 per US dollar.

Meanwhile, Finance Minister Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa said that the rupiah exchange rate that broke through the Rp18,000 level has not disrupted the government's ability to pay its debts.

Government bonds are fixed-rate bonds, so changes in the exchange rate do not have much effect.

However, he admitted that the weakening of the rupiah exchange rate had an impact on the payment of interest on government debt denominated in foreign exchange (foreign exchange).