Net international reserves tumble
JAKARTA (JP): Bank Indonesia announced on Tuesday that its net international reserves dropped by US$374 million to $14.1 billion as of Dec. 31 from the Dec. 23 level of $14.43 billion.
The central bank said in its weekly report that the decrease was due to repayment of part of the government's foreign debt and the payment of a quarterly contribution to the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
The central bank said that net reserves remained above the minimum level of $10.71 billion set by the IMF.
BI reported that gross foreign exchange reserves, which include net foreign exchange reserves plus outstanding foreign exchange contracts, fell by $360.8 million to $23.6 billion during the same week.
Net domestic assets stood at minus Rp 65.44 trillion as of Dec.31, an increase of Rp 6.3 billion from the previous week, but still well below the IMF adjusted target of minus Rp 32.84 trillion, BI said.
The central bank added that the amount of money in circulation rose slightly to Rp 75.12 trillion rupiah from Rp 72.56 trillion a week earlier as the result of increased demand for liquidity before the new year and prior to the Idul Fitri holiday on Jan. 20.
The central bank said that its net claims on the Indonesian Bank Restructuring Agency fell to Rp 119.67 trillion from Rp 137.57 trillion in the same week as the result of some banks repaying liquidity support and the government converting liquidity support given to state PT Bank Ekspor Impor Indonesia into an equity stake in the bank. (gis)
Table A: Foreign reserves (in million dollars)
Dec.15 Dec.23 Dec.31
--------------------------------------------------------
Gross foreign assets 22,847.1 23,960.0 23,599.2
- Liquid reserves * - - -
- Other reserves ** - - -
Gross foreign liabilities 7,765.1 9,728.8 8,728.8
Net forward positions 0.0 0.0 0.0
Reserve against
foreign currency deposits 798.6 801.5 814.7
--------------------------------------------------------
Net international reserves 14,283.4 14,429.7 14,055.7
* 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 offshore and deposits parked at foreign banks to guarantee letter of credits.
Table B: Monetary indicators (in billion rupiah)
Dec.15 Dec.23 Dec.31
-----------------------------------------------------------
Reserve money 70,930 72,564 75,121
- Currency in circulation 45,968 45,699 48,506
- Deposits at central bank 24,349 26,458 26,191
Net international reserves
(Rupiah at constant rate) 142,834 144,297 140,557
(in million dollars) 14,283.4 14,429.7 14,055.7
Net domestic assets -71,904 -71,733 -65,436
- Net claims on government -28,576 -29,236 -9,019
- Net claims on IBRA 134,474 137,570 119,673
- Liquidity credits 17,885 18,735 17,442
(of which to Bulog) 6,734 7,385 5,876
- Open market operations -60,853 -61,856 -58,833
Source: Bank Indonesia