A surprise rate hike
On June 9, 2026, Bank Indonesia announced a benchmark rate hike of 25 basis points to 5.50%. This rate hike was implemented less than a month from the previous rate hike of 50 basis points on May 20, 2026. These actions were taken by Bank Indonesia in the midst of the downward pressure on the Indonesian rupiah. The weakening of rupiah has been ongoing for several months, mostly due to an erosion of trust on the part of foreign investors regarding Indonesia's economic development, which has led to a massive capital outflow. The surprise rate hike at least has arrested the weakening of the rupiah, leading to a rate below Rp.18,000 per USD.
Bank of Indonesia also released the balance of payments figures for Q1 2026. At $4,008 million or at 1.09% of GDP, the current account in Q1 2026 registered a far larger deficit than in Q4 2025.
In the meantime, Central Board of Statistics in Indonesia released its trade balance report for the month of April 2026, which registered a much lower surplus than the previous month. The surplus in April 2026 was $89.1 million compared to $3,321 million achieved in March 2026. The total trade surplus for the first four months of 2026 stood at $5,637.6 million, 49.09% lower than $11,073.7 million achieved in the same period of the previous year.
Exports in April 2026 reached $25,302.8 million while imports for the month reached $25,213.7 million. Cumulative exports from January to April 2026 reached $95,152 million compared to $87,363.6 million for the first four months of 2025. However, cumulative imports in the first four months in 2026 reached $86,514.4 million, an increase compared to the previous year’s value of $76,289.9 million.
The Central Board of Statistics also reported the Consumer Price Index for May 2026 which showed inflation of 0.28%. With that monthly inflation, Y/Y inflation in May 2026 reached 3.08%.
Now read on...
Register to sample a report