The Garuda currency is once again facing heavy pressure in global financial markets, with the official rupiah exchange rate breaching the psychological level of Rp18,000 per United States (US) dollar. This weakening reflects significant economic challenges resulting from accumulated burdens from both domestic and external sectors.
Economic and currency analyst Ibrahim Assuaibi highlighted that one of the main drivers of this weakening is Indonesia's trade balance, which recorded a deficit of US$1.61 billion in May 2026. According to Ibrahim, the deficit was triggered by high crude oil import volumes, placing additional pressure on national foreign exchange reserves.
Referring to Bank Indonesia's Jakarta Interbank Spot Dollar Rate (JISDOR) data, the rupiah initially traded around Rp17,999 per US dollar early in the week before weakening further to Rp18,090 per US dollar. Conditions on the ground indicate even higher pressure, with several retail banks now setting the selling rate for the US dollar between Rp18,100 and Rp18,220 per US dollar.
Ibrahim warned that the volatility of the rupiah exchange rate is likely to persist. As long as negative global sentiment factors have not subsided and domestic economic fundamentals show no significant improvement, the national currency is expected to remain under pressure in the near term.
