Indonesia central bank limits dollar purchases and steps up intervention
Updated
Updated · The Wall Street Journal · May 6
Indonesia central bank limits dollar purchases and steps up intervention
10 articles · Updated · The Wall Street Journal · May 6
Bank Indonesia cut the monthly domestic cap to $50,000 from $100,000 unless buyers show legitimate need, after the rupiah hit 17,445 per dollar before edging to 17,410.
Governor Perry Warjiyo said the bank would intensify onshore and offshore foreign-exchange operations and coordinate with the finance ministry on secondary-market government bond purchases to support liquidity and capital flows.
Analysts said the measures may offer only short-term relief as Middle East turmoil, US tariffs, fiscal worries, fuel subsidies and capital outflows keep pressure on the rupiah, with some seeing possible rate hikes.
As Indonesia spends billions to defend the rupiah, is a painful interest rate hike now inevitable?
Can Indonesia’s currency rescue plan succeed while it faces a 'Frontier' market downgrade?