Jakarta. Rupiah weakened toward Rp 18,000 per US dollar on Monday as pressure on Asian currencies persisted, prompting Bank Indonesia (BI) to step up efforts to stabilize the exchange rate amid heightened global financial uncertainty.

Bloomberg data showed the rupiah fell 61 points, or 0.34%, to Rp 17,964 per US dollar in the spot market as of 9:23 a.m. Jakarta time.

Most major Asian currencies also weakened against the greenback. The Japanese yen fell 0.26%, the Singapore dollar declined 0.08%, the Thai baht slid 0.42%, the Chinese yuan dropped 0.03%, and the Philippine peso weakened 0.02%.

Elsewhere, the South Korean won fell 0.47%, while the Indian rupee strengthened 0.15%. The Hong Kong dollar was unchanged, and the Malaysian ringgit declined 0.17%.

Bank Indonesia (BI) Governor Destry Damayanti said mounting global economic volatility had intensified pressure on the rupiah, prompting the central bank to strengthen its exchange rate stabilization measures.

"Bank Indonesia will continue to strengthen rupiah stabilization measures amid high uncertainty in global financial markets," Destry said.

BI will optimize its monetary instruments to support the rupiah, including foreign exchange interventions through non-deliverable forwards (NDFs) in offshore markets and spot transactions and domestic non-deliverable forwards (DNDFs) in the domestic market.

The central bank is also expanding incentives for hedging transactions to encourage foreign funding inflows. Previously limited to portfolio investments, the incentives now also cover banks' offshore borrowings and foreign direct investment (FDI).

For hedging transactions involving the purchase of foreign exchange from BI through swaps, the premium discount has been increased to 15% for three-month tenors, 20% for six-month tenors and 25% for 12-month tenors. Previously, the discount stood at 12.5% across all tenors.

The measures are intended to attract foreign capital and increase foreign exchange supply in the domestic market, helping BI manage pressure on the rupiah amid global financial uncertainty.

Add as a preferred source on Google +