Finance Minister Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa stated that the current movement of the rupiah does not reflect its underlying fundamentals and remains undervalued. He expressed confidence that the Indonesian currency still has room to strengthen in the near term, potentially returning to the Rp15,000 per U.S. dollar level.

Purbaya noted that while he previously mentioned Rp16,500, he now believes the exchange rate could move closer to Rp15,000 per dollar without significant difficulty. However, he emphasized that he was not speaking on behalf of the central bank. He made the remarks after attending the Indonesia Economic Summit in Jakarta on Tuesday (February 3, 2026).

He also jokingly remarked that achieving a rupiah level of Rp15,000 per dollar would be easier if he were at Bank Indonesia. His optimism, he explained, is based on the strength of regional currencies such as the Malaysian ringgit, Singapore dollar, Thai baht, and Vietnamese dong.

Speaking in English during a dialogue session at the Shangri-La Hotel in Jakarta on the same day, Purbaya reiterated that reaching the Rp15,000 level would not be difficult when taking into account the appreciation of neighboring currencies, while again stressing that he was not representing the central bank’s position.

Purbaya acknowledged that the rupiah’s weakness amid broader appreciation among ASEAN currencies against the U.S. dollar is an unusual situation. Nevertheless, he declined to elaborate further, noting that exchange rate management falls under Bank Indonesia’s authority.

He underscored that Bank Indonesia’s role is to ensure the rupiah’s value remains aligned with other regional currencies.

At the close of trading on Tuesday (February 3, 2026), the rupiah strengthened by 44 points, or 0.26 percent, to Rp16,754 per U.S. dollar. Meanwhile, Bank Indonesia’s reference rate, the Jakarta Interbank Spot Dollar Rate (Jisdor), placed the rupiah at Rp16,777 per dollar.

The rupiah’s movement mirrored gains across most Asian currencies against the U.S. dollar. The Japanese yen rose 0.03 percent, the Chinese yuan appreciated 0.13 percent, and the Singapore dollar advanced 0.20 percent.

The South Korean won and Thai baht each gained 0.37 percent, while the Malaysian ringgit posted the strongest increase in the region with a rise of 0.50 percent.

Previously, the rupiah had been expected to face pressure amid a stronger U.S. dollar, driven by U.S. manufacturing data that came in well above market expectations.