Indonesia's Forex Reserves Down to USD139.3 Billion in May 2023

Indonesia's foreign exchange (forex) reserves stood at USD139.3 billion at the end of May 2023.

IDXChannel - Indonesia's foreign exchange (forex) reserves stood at USD139.3 billion at the end of May 2023.

According to Bank Indonesia (BI), it remained high despite retreating from USD144.2 billion at the end of April 2023.  

'The decrease stemmed, amongst others, from the obligation of government external debt repayments and in anticipation of demand for foreign currency liquidity in the banking industry as economic activity continues to accelerate," BI Communication Department Executive Director Erwin Haryono said in a media release on Friday (9/6/2023).

The position of reserve assets is equivalent to 6.1 months of imports or 6.0 months of imports and servicing government's external debt.

It is well above the international adequacy standard of around three months of imports.

"Bank Indonesia views the current level of reserve assets are able to support external sector resilience as well as maintain macroeconomic and financial system stability," he stated. 

"Moving forward, Bank Indonesia will continue strengthening external sector resilience in line with the policy mix responses to maintain macroeconomic and financial system stability, while supporting sustainable economic growth," he concluded. (WHY)