TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Bank Indonesia (BI) head of communication Erwin Haryono in a written statement on Thursday said the position of Indonesia’s foreign exchange (forex) reserve by the end of March amounted to US$139.1 billion, which is lower than the reserve in February of US$141.4 billion.

According to Haryono, the position of foreign exchange reserves is influenced by the need for payment of the government's foreign debt.

“The position of foreign exchange reserves is equivalent to financing 7.2 months of imports or 7.0 months of imports and servicing government external debt, and is above the international adequacy standard of around 3 months of imports,” he wrote in the statement on April 7.

This level of foreign exchange reserves, he said, are able to support the resilience of the external sector as well as maintain macroeconomic and financial system stability.

Going forward, Bank Indonesia views the reserves will be adequate, supported by maintained economic stability and prospects, in line with policy responses for economic recovery.

Previously, forex reserves at the end of January amounted to US$ 141.3 billion. This figure also decreased compared to the position at the end of December 2021 of US$ 144.9 dollars. The decline was also due to the need to pay off the government's foreign debt.

Read: Indonesia Foreign Debt Drops to $413bn in January 2022

M FAIZ ZAKI