Foreign reserves up to $34.81b

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Indonesia's foreign exchange reserves as of Oct. 15, reached US$34.81 billion, rising by $91.90 million from the previous week, the central bank reported.

"The hike was mainly caused by (higher) oil and gas revenue," it said in a media statement on Wednesday, largely due to the soaring international oil prices.

Indonesia remains a top oil and gas exporter in the world, although it became a net oil importer in March.

On Tuesday, U.S. light crude was off 32 U.S. cents at $53.35 a barrel following Monday's $1.26 slide from a record close of $54.93 per barrel on Friday. Brent crude in London eased 11 U.S. cents to $48.80 a barrel on Tuesday.

Indonesia has been steadily strengthening its foreign reserves in the hope of regaining investor confidence over the country's monetary stability following the end of its lending agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

A healthy foreign reserve base would boost confidence and provide a safeguard against speculation of the rupiah.

Meanwhile, the statement also said that the base money position in the same period increased by Rp 965 billion to reach Rp 177.79 trillion.

"This increase was mainly caused by a rise in banks accounts at Bank Indonesia," it added.