On Wednesday, new governor Destry Damayanti and the board left the benchmark rate unchanged at 5.75%. She said the economy is expanding but "needs a boost," and emphasized that the central bank is leaning on tools beyond rate moves to handle global uncertainty. In her words, "BI will continue to strengthen incentive policies to attract foreign capital inflows, stabilize the rupiah, and accelerate the deepening of the money and foreign exchange markets."
Destry described the incentives as following a "higher for longer" approach, meaning investors receive larger premium discounts the longer they keep funds in the country.
She framed the stance as a policy mix that keeps rates steady while pressing other levers to "create room for the economy to continue moving forward." It was her first rate decision since becoming permanent governor earlier this month.
Officials are relying on intervention and other non-rate measures as the first line of defense for the currency amid a tougher global backdrop. Destry flagged higher volatility, noting oil above $100 a barrel, inflation abroad running hotter than expected and the likelihood of another US Federal Reserve hike. She said that calls for stronger policy responses and tighter fiscal-monetary coordination to bolster resilience.
Across Asia, the worsening Middle East conflict and El Niño are lifting energy and food costs. Indonesia's inflation was 3.2% in August, near the top of BI's 1.5% to 3.5% target band. Earlier this week, the rupiah softened toward 17,900 per dollar as a Fed rate increase, rising US Treasury yields and pricier crude weighed on it. The currency later strengthened 0.4% to 17,800 after the decision.
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Following the announcement, both the rupiah and government debt retained their prior advances; the currency was up 0.4% at 17,800 per dollar, ahead of most regional peers. Stocks rallied 1.5%, the biggest daily jump in almost a month. The hold matched the base case for most forecasters, with 33 of 36 expecting no change and the remainder looking for a quarter-point increase.
Some strategists still pencil in one more move. In Jakarta, PT Bank Permata economist Faisal Rachman also expects another quarter-point hike in the fourth quarter, noting that prolonged or broader geopolitical tensions keeping oil above $100 per barrel would raise the odds of further tightening by both the Fed and BI.
Earlier this year, BI lifted rates by 100 basis points preemptively. Now it is leaning on targeted incentives and market operations to draw capital and steady the currency. Higher foreign exchange reserves provide more space to support the rupiah without immediately raising rates. The decision also followed Suahasil Nazara's appointment as finance minister, sharpening the focus on fiscal-monetary teamwork as higher energy costs strain both the currency and the budget while President Prabowo Subianto pushes for faster growth.
On the home front, August bank lending rose 13.65% from a year earlier, topping the 8%-12% growth expected for this year. If oil stays lofty and the Fed delivers another hike, currency swings may persist, but BI's combination of holding rates and intensifying other measures is geared toward stabilizing the rupiah and keeping economic momentum intact.
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