Foreign Exchange Reserves at Bank Indonesia Rise Slightly in June 2014
The central bank of Indonesia (Bank Indonesia, BI) released a statement on Monday (07/07) which shows that the country’s foreign exchange reserves have expanded 0.7 percent to USD $107.7 billion in June 2014 mainly on an increase of the government’s oil & gas revenue (that exceeds the foreign debt payment) and higher foreign-exchange term deposits at local banks, reducing the need for Bank Indonesia to intervene in the foreign exchange market. However, the central bank did not provide any figures on these revenues and deposits.
Last week, it was reported by Statistics Indonesia that the country’s trade balance had recorded a surplus of USD $69.9 million in May 2014, improving markedly from a disappointing USD $1.97 billion deficit in the previous month. Meanwhile, Indonesia’s oil & gas trade balance recovered to an USD $70 million surplus from a USD $1.96 billion deficit in April 2014. Trade data for the month of June will be released at the start of August.
At the current level of USD $107.7 billion, the foreign exchange reserves can finance Indonesia’s imports and debt payments for six months, which is double the minimum level of the global standard of three months.
Indonesia's Foreign Exchange Reserves 2008-2014:
| 2008 | 2009 |
2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014² | |
| Foreign Exchange Reserves¹ |
51.6 | 66.1 | 96.2 | 110.1 | 112.8 | 99.4 | 107.7 |
¹ in billion US dollar
² at end June 2014
Source: Bank Indonesia