Finance Minister Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa denied claims that the current weakening of the rupiah against the United States (US) dollar resembles the conditions experienced in 1998. As previously noted, the rupiah’s decline on Monday (18/5/2026) coincided with the drop of the IHSG by more than 4 percent.

According to him, the present situation is very different from the recession and monetary crisis of 1997-1998 that severely pressured the rupiah at the time.

“There are many sentiments affecting the weakening of the IHSG, and when the rupiah depreciates people immediately assume we are heading back to the 1997-1998 situation. In fact, the circumstances are different. During 1997-1998, the policies implemented were flawed, and socio-political instability emerged after we had already been in recession for a year. By mid-1997, we were already experiencing a recession,” Purbaya said while speaking at Bandar Udara Halim Perdanakusuma on Monday (18/5/2026).

“So investors in the stock market do not need to worry excessively. In my opinion, there is no need to be afraid of buying stocks at lower prices right now,” he added.

Purbaya also expressed a technical view that stock market movements are expected to rebound within the next one to two days.

“From a technical perspective, I see the market recovering again within a day or two,” he said.

He further assured that the Kementerian Keuangan Republik Indonesia is also taking steps to stabilize the rupiah. One of the measures includes activating the Bond Stabilization Fund (BSF) in the near future. The instrument is intended to absorb government bonds being sold by investors in order to prevent panic in the bond market.

“We will also start entering the bond market beginning today. We have already entered, but only on a small scale. Starting today, the intervention will become more significant so the bond market remains under control. That way, foreign investors holding bonds will not exit due to fears of capital losses caused by falling bond prices. This measure can also help support the rupiah’s movement to some extent,” Purbaya stated.

Purbaya also mentioned that the budget allocated to implement the scheme amounts to Rp2 trillion per day.