Issuance Of Global Sukuk Triggers Foreign Exchange Increase In June 2021 To USD 137.1 Billion

JAKARTA - Bank Indonesia (BI) reported that foreign exchange reserves at the end of June 2021 were recorded at 137.1 billion US dollars or equivalent to Rp. 1,985.5 trillion (exchange rate of Rp. 14,482).

Head of the BI Communications Department Erwin Haryono said this number increased compared to the position at the end of May 2021 of 136.4 billion US dollars.

"The increase in the position of foreign exchange reserves in June 2021 is influenced, among other things, by the issuance of the government's global sukuk as well as tax and service revenues," he said as reported by the official website, Wednesday, July 7.

According to Erwin, last month's foreign exchange reserve was equivalent to financing 9.2 months of imports or 8.8 months of imports and servicing the government's foreign debt.

"This result is above the international adequacy standard of about 3 months of imports," he said.

The monetary authority itself considers the current foreign exchange reserves to be able to support external sector resilience and maintain macroeconomic and financial system stability.

"Going forward, Bank Indonesia views that foreign exchange reserves will remain adequate and will become an important factor for the external resilience of the national economy," said Erwin.

For information, BI itself is currently still implementing a low interest rate policy by maintaining the BI 7-Day Reverse Repo Rate (BI7DRR) at 3.50 percent.

This decision was taken to withstand the pressure caused by the COVID-19 pandemic in the financial sector. In addition, BI is also trying to keep liquidity in the market loose while paying attention to signs of economic recovery shown by the amount of inflation formed.