Jakarta (ANTARA) – Bank Indonesia removed any reference to a potential policy rate cut, citing rising global risks and mounting pressure on the rupiah, Governor Perry Warjiyo said Tuesday.Warjiyo said escalating conflict in the Middle East prompted the central bank to drop guidance on easing, signaling instead a continued hold on the benchmark BI-Rate for the foreseeable future.The decision aims to reinforce rupiah stability through calibrated intervention and maintaining adequate foreign-exchange reserves, he said during a virtual briefing in Jakarta.He added that policy calibration will continue, balancing interest rates, intervention measures and reserve adequacy in line with evolving global and domestic conditions.Additional steps include strengthening monetary operations using existing instruments to attract or at least retain foreign portfolio inflows amid heightened volatility.Measures also extend to tighter foreign-exchange traffic rules, including new reporting requirements for cross-border flows set to take effect in April 2026.At its March policy meeting, BI kept the benchmark rate unchanged at 4.75 percent, while the deposit facility remained at 3.75 percent and the lending facility at 5.50 percent.The central bank said the decision supports rupiah stability amid worsening global conditions tied to Middle East tensions and ensures inflation stays within its 2026–2027 target range of 2.5 percent plus or minus one percentage point.The move marks an extended pause since October 2025, following cumulative rate cuts of 150 basis points since September 2024, including 125 basis points delivered throughout 2025.Before tensions escalated following strikes involving the United States and Israel against Iran on Feb. 28, BI had signaled scope for further easing, contingent on incoming data.The rupiah weakened to Rp16,985 per dollar on March 16, down 1.29 percent from end-February levels, broadly tracking declines in other non-dollar currencies.Portfolio investment recorded net outflows of US$1.1 billion in March, reflecting heightened global financial uncertainty linked to the Middle East conflict, BI said.Indonesia’s foreign reserves stood at US$151.9 billion at end-February, covering 6.1 months of imports, or 5.9 months including government external debt payments, well above international adequacy standards.