Foreign exchange reserves fall to $15.95 billion

JAKARTA (JP): The country's net foreign exchange reserves fell US$55.1 million to $15.95 billion as of Aug. 23, according to Bank Indonesia's latest weekly report.

The central bank said that the drop was due to foreign debt payments, but despite the fall, the level of net reserves was still above the minimum target of $14.3 billion set by the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

Gross foreign exchange reserves were unchanged at $26.9 billion.

The central bank also said that the volume of primary money rose Rp 616 billion to Rp 78.08 trillion on Aug. 23 from Rp 77.47 trillion in the week ending Aug. 13.

The increase in primary money was partly due to an increase in funds used for the central bank's open market operation, the central bank said.

Net domestic assets increased Rp 1.03 trillion to negative Rp 41.60 trillion. However, the level of net assets was still below the adjusted target of Rp 28.85 trillion.

The central bank said that net claims to the government also fell Rp 532 billion to Rp 123.27 trillion.

Average interest rates on one-month central bank promissory notes (SBIs) dropped to 13.06 percent at the weekly auction on Wednesday from 13.09 percent a week ago. (hen)