Govt to Revise Currency Assumption in 2015

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The government will propose a change in rupiah rate against the US dollar in the 2015 Amended State Budget macro assumptions. The rate assumption will be raised from Rp11,900 per US dollar to Rp12,200 per dollar.

"The change is adjusted to the current economic conditions," Bobby Hamzar Rafinus deputy of monetary and fiscal coordination at the Coordinating Ministry for the Economy, told Tempo yesterday.

Bobby said that change also takes into account the interest of the public and business community, who are directly affected by the inflation turmoil following the fuel price hike in November. In general, Bobby predicted the rupiah's rate next year will be around Rp11,900 to Rp12,500 per US dollar.

Finance Minister Bambang P.S. Brodjonegoro previously said his ministry will evaluate the rupiah movement until December 31, 2014, before they propose the final assumption. "The rupiah rate should be revised to conform to this year's average realization," he said some time ago.

Towards the end of 2014, the rupiah has been on a downtrend. Last week, Bank Indonesia (BI) noted the rupiah at Rp12,467 per US dollar, an improvement from mid-December's Rp12,900 per US dollar. In the 2014 state budget, the exchange rate assumption was set at Rp11,600 per US dollar. 

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