On Tuesday, the rupiah fell 0.54 per cent to 16,642 per US dollar in the morning trade, its deepest plunge since March 23, 2020, when it traded at 16,550 against the US dollar.
The rupiah’s worst market showing was on June 17, 1998, when it slumped to 16,800 per dollar.
The slide forced the country’s central bank, Bank Indonesia, to intervene, eventually propping the rupiah to 16,595 per US dollar when the market closed on Tuesday, a 0.24 per cent decline from Monday’s trade.
Fitra Jusdiman, director of monetary and securities asset management at the central bank, said the central bank would “continue anticipatory, mitigatory responses to ensure stability in the rupiah exchange rate”. He added that it would maintain foreign exchange supply and demand “including by intervening in a bold and measured way”.
