RRI.CO.ID, Jakarta: Finance Minister Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa is confident that the Indonesian rupiah will strengthen against the US dollar, saying it is only a matter of time. He attributed the currency’s recent weakness partly to speculation.

Purbaya said his optimism stems from the Jakarta Composite Index (JCI) performance, which has continued to climb. The index closed at 9,133 on Monday, January 19, 2026.

“If the index rises like that, there will definitely be an influx of foreign capital. The domestic market alone cannot push the JCI to that level,” he said after a workshop with the House of Representatives’ Commission XI on the same day.

He explained that the rupiah would strengthen as foreign capital inflows increase the supply of US dollars. “So, it’s just a matter of time before the rupiah strengthens again,” he said.

The minister noted that the recent depreciation of the rupiah was largely speculative. “When Thomas was nominated, people speculated that he would lose his independence, but that’s simply not true,” he said, referring to Deputy Finance Minister Thomas Djiwandono.

Thomas has been nominated as Deputy Governor of Bank Indonesia, a move that some market players believed pressured the rupiah, which nearly touched IDR 17,000 per US dollar.

Despite this, Minister Purbaya remains optimistic that the currency will rebound, citing Indonesia’s strong economic fundamentals. “Our economic fundamentals must be maintained so that growth remains rapid,” he said.

To safeguard those fundamentals, he emphasized the need to ensure financial liquidity and accelerate government spending at the start of the year. Priority programs, he added, would continue to be implemented.

“We will improve everything, supply and demand, investment, monetary and fiscal policies. All sectors will be strengthened. Achieving 6 percent economic growth is not too difficult, and this will support the rupiah’s recovery in the future,” Minister Purbaya said, maintaining his optimism. (Gusti Panji/Lasti Martina)