Fluctuations in the US dollar`s exchange rate against other currencies were something normal, he said.Jakarta (ANTARA News) - Finance Minister Agus Martowardojo said on Tuesday he was not worried about the country`s US dollar-denominated foreign exchange reserves although the greenback had come under pressure from the global crisis.
Fluctuations in the US dollar`s exchange rate against other currencies were something normal, he said.
Yet the government and Bank Indonesia (the central bank/BI) would always keep a watch on the fluctuations, he said.
As per October 31, 2011 the country`s foreign exchange reserves fell to US$114 billion from US$114.5 billion a month earlier. However, compared to January 2011, the foreign exchange reserves in the month ended October 31, 2011 rose US$18.7 billion. The foreign exchange reserves reached an all time high of US$124.5 billion in August 2011.
"So our foreign exchange reserves in October fell slightly compared to August. That is something normal although we ourselves are domain at BI and we respect it," he said.
After all, the minister said he was optimistic that the country`s foreign exchange reserves would reach US$120 billion at the end of this year.
Earlier, Bank Indonesia Governor Darmin Nasution said 55 percent of the country`s foreign exchange reserves was in the US dollar.
"The rest is in the Australian dollar and so on," he said.
He said the structure of the foreign exchange reserves was based on that of the government`s debts. If the government needed a certain currency to pay interest and installments, Bank Indonesia could provide it.
Commenting on the increasingly tighter liquidity of foreign currencies, he said Bank Indonesia would intervene in the market to meet corporate demand for foreign currencies to repay debts at the end of this year.
He said demand for foreign currencies at the end of this year would not much be different from that in the previous months. (*)
Editor: Heru Purwanto
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