BI's net int'l drop to to $14.63b
JAKARTA (JP): Bank Indonesia (BI) announced yesterday that its net international reserves (NIR) as of May 29 totaled US$14.63 billion, a decline of $61.8 million from the previous week's level.
The central bank said in a statement the NIR position was still higher than the minimum level allowed by the International Monetary Fund.
BI added that its gross foreign assets as of the same date totaled $19.03 billion, a slight decrease from the previous level of $19.10 billion.
The decline was mainly due to investment in foreign exchange, it said.
BI also said its net domestic assets (NDA) were valued at minus Rp 34.44 trillion (US$2.94 billion), indicating a monetary contraction of Rp 1.86 trillion against the previous level.
It said the contraction was caused by open market operations, net claims on the government and increasing net claims on the Indonesian Bank Restructuring Agency (IBRA) and credit liquidity.
The May 29 level was still within the IMF limits, the bank said.
An open market operation mainly done through the selling of Bank Indonesia's short-term promissory notes (SBIs) and rupiah intervention resulted in a significant contraction of Rp 20.95 trillion compared to the previous week's level, it said.
BI added the bank liquidity withdrawal primarily came from the state-owned banks and foreign and joint-venture banks.
The contraction sent the net position of the open market operation as of May 29 to a negative Rp 64.21 trillion.
BI's net claim on the government during the same period contributed to an expansion of Rp 1.41 trillion, causing a negative of Rp 36.41 trillion, mainly for the payment of government employees' salaries, the bank said.
BI's net claim on IBRA was Rp 124.63 trillion, an increase of Rp 22.08 trillion compared to the previous week's level.
This was mainly related to the increase in liquidity injection to several banks under IBRA including Bank Central Asia, BI said.
It added that the amount of liquidity credit increased by Rp 1.24 trillion, compared to the previous week's level, to reach Rp 19.14 trillion on May 29.
The increase was primarily used to support the government's program to provide essential food items by the State Logistics Agency (Bulog), BI said.
With the above development, reserve money fell by Rp 2.30 trillion, compared to the previous week's level, to Rp 67.96 trillion, the bank said. (rei)
Table A: Foreign Reserves (in million dollars)
May 15 May 22 May 29
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Gross foreign assets 19,037.0 19,097.2 19,026.7
- Liquid reserves * 12,508.4 12,535.3 12,442.9
- Other reserves ** 6,528.6 6,561.9 6,583.8
Gross foreign liabilities 3,921.2 3,921.2 3,921.2
Net forward positions -34.0 -34.0 -34.0
Reserve against
foreign currency deposits 448.7 450.4 441.7
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Net international reserves 14,633.1 14,691.6 14,629.8
* Liquid gross foreign assets include gold, foreign securities, offshore deposits and special drawing rights.
** Other gross foreign assets include export drafts, deposits in the branches of domestic banks in offshores and deposits parked at foreign banks to guarantee letter of credits.
Table B: Monetary Indicators (in billion rupiah)
May 15 May 22 May 29
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Reserve money 71,620 70,262 67,965
- Currency in circulation 43,360 46,579 49,228
- Deposits at central bank 27,303 22,736 17,760
Net international reserves
(Rupiah at constant rate) 102,432 102,841 102,409
(in million dollars) 14,633.1 14,691.6 14,629.8
Net domestic assets -30,812 -32,579 -34,444
- Net claims on government -31,779 -37,817 -36,410
- Net claims on IBRA 98,835 102,550 124,633
- Liquidity credits 17,897 17,900 19,139
(of which to Bulog) 6,403 6,403 7,404
- Open market operations -33,903 -43,261 -64,210
Source: Bank Indonesia