JAKARTA (Reuters) -Indonesia’s central bank has been guiding the rupiah to a stronger level and will try to get it to trade around 16,300 a dollar, its governor said on Tuesday, after the currency fell amid unrest across the country.
“The rupiah, which yesterday morning had reached 16,560 (per dollar) … today we have stabilised to 16,400,” Perry Warjiyo told a meeting with parliament’s regional council.
“We will work to get it lower to 16,300 or even stronger,” he said, reiterating Bank Indonesia’s commitment to intervene in the offshore and domestic foreign exchange markets.
The rupiah fell 0.9% on Friday, as protests intensified in many cities in the Southeast Asian country after a police vehicle hit and killed a motorcycle taxi driver the previous night.
Protests have continued this week, with police firing tear gas into crowds of demonstrators near two universities in the city of Bandung, over 140 km (87 miles) west of Jakarta, on Monday evening.
The rupiah hit its weakest since August 1 of 16,500 a dollar during intraday trade on Monday, but has since firmed, according to LSEG data.
The main stock index rebounded 1.17% on Tuesday, after falling 2.7% over the previous two sessions.
(Reporting by Gayatri Suroyo; Editing by Martin Petty)
