Interest rates soared to 70% during the 1998 monetary crisis.

During the 1998 Asian financial crisis, the one-month Bank Indonesia Certificate (SBI) interest rate reached 70% per annum. Soaring prices and widespread riots across Indonesia fueled inflation exceeding 70%, causing interest rates to skyrocket. The domestic economy contracted by more than 13%, leading to a rupiah depreciation exceeding Rp 15,000 per US dollar.

This situation is vastly different from the current conditions, even though the rupiah is currently nearing Rp 15,000 per US dollar. Inflation is currently well-controlled at 3.2%, the benchmark interest rate, despite increases, remains at 5.5%, and the domestic economy continues to grow at around 5%. Furthermore, Bank Indonesia's foreign exchange reserves stand at US$ 117.93 billion, approximately five times higher than the US$ 18 billion during the crisis.

Although some food prices have increased, they remain generally well-controlled. The weakening of the rupiah to Rp 14,900 per US dollar is due to external factors, in line with the rise in US Federal Reserve interest rates. The rupiah's weakening from Rp 13,000 per US dollar represents only an 8% decline this year, a far cry from the Rp 2,500 per US dollar level before the crisis. Fundamentally, Indonesia's economy remains quite solid and is in better shape than emerging market economies currently facing crises, such as Argentina, Turkey, and Venezuela.