"Today, the President held a limited cabinet meeting on economic affairs at 10:00 a.m.," Presidential Spokesman Julian Aldrin Pasha said at the Cipanas Presidential Palace.
At the meeting, Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Hatta Rajasa, briefed the President about the latest economic conditions, including the rupiahs exchange rate, which had been under pressure over the past few days, Julian revealed.
Hatta noted that the domestic economy was being constantly pressured due to the countrys current account deficit and the U.S. Federal Reserves (Fed) plan to cut its monetary stimulus.
A number of steps had been taken to anticipate the possibility of the Fed withdrawing its stimulus program, he said.
Meanwhile, Julian noted that the President had always kept in touch with economic developments and received reports from relevant ministers on the developments and anticipatory steps that needed to be taken to address the matter.
The meeting was still in progress at 2:00 p.m.
The rupiah has continued to depreciate against the dollar during the past few days. The currency had weakened by 133 points to Rp12,017 on Thursday evening, down from the previous days position. It weakened further to Rp12,018 on Friday morning, though it had strengthened again to Rp11,965 in the evening.
The government and the countrys central bank, Bank Indonesia (BI), have also stepped up coordination in the face of the developments related to the rupiah. (*)
Editor: Heru Purwanto
Copyright © ANTARA 2013
