Official: Bank Indonesia intervenes to steady rupiah amid coronavirus fears

According to Nanang Hendarsah, Head of monetary management at Bank Indonesia (BI), the Indonesian central bank intervened in spot fx, domestic NDF and bond markets to stem the rupiah’s decline amid rapidly spreading China’s coronavirus outbreak internationally.

Key Quotes:

“BI is making sure of rupiah’s stability.” 

“BI is boldly buying bonds in the secondary market and is offering DNDF (domestic non-deliverable forwards) through 8 brokers.” 

“Rupiah’s fall in early trade to a drop in China's equities market.”

FX Implications:

The rupiah sits at a three-week low of 13,73.5 vs. the US dollar, as the sentiment remains weighed down by heavy selling in the Chinese yuan and softer Indonesian inflation figures. So far this year, the rupiah has gained 1.1% helped by big inflows.