TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Bank Indonesia stated that Indonesia’s foreign exchange reserves have dropped by USD3.5 billion from USD115 billion in October to 111.5 billion at the end of November as foreign exchange reserves were used to stabilize the rupiah exchange rate and payment of the country’s external debt.
The Central Bank noted that decline in foreign exchange reserves is temporary since investors are optimistic about domestic economy recovery, improved export performance and global financial market recovery, according to Bank Indonesia official in a statement on Wednesday, December 7, 2016.
“BI will continue to mantain the adequacy of foreign exchange reserves to help maintain macroeconomic and financial system stablity,” Director for Communication Department of Bank Indonesia Arbonas Hutabarat said.
Arbonas said that Indonesia’s foreign exchange reserves as of end-November can cover 8.5 month of imports or 8.1 month of imports and payment of Indonesia’s external debt. The figure is above the adequacy of international reserves of 3 month of imports.
The foreign exchange reserves, Arbonas went on, can support resilience to external shocks and maintain Indonesia’s sustainable economic growth.
ANTARA