JAKARTA: Indonesia's foreign exchange reserves dropped by US$4.2 billion to US$136.2 billion at end-April, the biggest fall in nearly a year, after authorities took measures to stabilise the weakening rupiah currency, the central bank said.
"The declining FX reserves position was due to payment of government's foreign debts and the need to stabilise rupiah amid increasing global financial market uncertainty," Bank Indonesia said in a statement on Wednesday.
The drop was the biggest since May 2023, when reserves fell US$4.9 billion to US$139.3 billion.
The reserves level at end-April was equal to 6.1 months worth of imports, above international standards and adequate to support Indonesia's external resilience and maintain economic and financial stability, Bank Indonesia said.
The rupiah fell to a four-year low last month at 16,285 per U.S. dollar as rising tensions in the Middle East and markets pushing out the expected timing of U.S. rate cuts prompted capital outflows from emerging economy countries.
At 0318 GMT on Wednesday, the rupiah was trading down 0.28 per cent at 16,085 per dollar. - Reuters
