Paying Debt, RI's Foreign Exchange Reserves Shrink US$1.4 Billion In A Month, Bank Indonesia: Still Safe

Illustration (Photo: Doc. Antara)

JAKARTA - Bank Indonesia (BI) reported a decline in foreign exchange reserves of US$1.4 billion in the past month.

Head of the BI Communications Department Erwin Haryono said the position of Indonesia's foreign exchange reserves at the end of October 2021 remained high at 145.5 billion US dollars.

"This amount has decreased compared to the position at the end of September 2021 of 146.9 billion US dollars," he said in an official statement as reported by the official website on Friday, November 5.

According to Erwin, the position of Indonesia's foreign exchange reserves is still sufficient and is on the verge of the upper limit of the globally agreed minimum standard.

It was stated that this foreign exchange reserve was equivalent to financing 8.5 months of imports or 8.3 months of imports and servicing government foreign debt, and was above the international adequacy standard of around 3 months of imports.

"Bank Indonesia assesses that foreign exchange reserves are able to support external sector resilience and maintain macroeconomic and financial system stability," he said.

Meanwhile, the cause of the cut in foreign exchange reserves last month was due to the government paying debts to foreign parties.

"The decline in the position of foreign exchange reserves in October 2021 was influenced, among other things, by the payment of the government's foreign debt," he said.

Furthermore, Erwin ensured that the monetary authority would continue to maintain and oversee the stability of the national financial system.

"Going forward, Bank Indonesia views that foreign exchange reserves will remain adequate, supported by stability and maintained economic prospects, along with various policy responses to promote economic recovery," concluded Erwin.