BI forex reserves drop to $15.09b

JAKARTA (JP): Bank Indonesia announced on Wednesday the country's net foreign exchange reserves declined by US$5.5 million after the repayment of government overseas loans.

The central bank said in its weekly monetary indicator report that the net international reserves (NIR) dropped to $15.09 billion as of Feb. 5, from $15.10 billion on Jan. 29.

The bank, however, added that the NIR level was still above the IMF adjusted target of $11.20 billion.

Gross international reserves, which are net foreign exchange reserves plus outstanding foreign exchange contracts, also declined by $1.9 million to $24.62 billion from the level in the previous week, the central bank said.

BI also said that net claims on the Indonesian Bank Restructuring Agency declined by Rp 1.56 trillion to Rp 111.946 trillion as banks taken over by the agency repaid some of the liquidity support injected by the central bank.

The government's account at the central bank declined by Rp 318 billion primarily due to the repayment of government foreign loans.

The bank also reported that net domestic assets during the week dropped by Rp 2.54 trillion to minus Rp 78.69 trillion, well below the adjusted IMF target of minus Rp 35.45 trillion. (rei)