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It’s not doomsday, says BI boss on rupiah depreciation
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Bank Indonesia Governor Perry Warjiyo (Antara/Sigid Kurniawan)
B
ank Indonesia Governor Perry Warjiyo called on the public on Wednesday not to worry about the rupiah depreciation, saying that the rupiah exchange rate against the US dollar was better than that of other currencies in emerging countries.
The rupiah stood at above Rp 15,000 per US dollar on Tuesday. Since January, the currency has depreciated 9.82 percent, BI data shows.
“We have to compare the rupiah exchange rate with other currencies. Don’t think it is doomsday if the rupiah hits Rp 15,000 per US dollar,” Perry said during a seminar at the House of Representatives’ building in Jakarta.
He explained that the depreciation of the rupiah and other currencies was a result of the United States’ aggressive monetary policy, particularly the increase of the Fed Fund Rate and the US trade war against China and other countries.
However, Perry conceded that the currency of certain countries like Thailand were not affected by external pressures because they had a foreign exchange surplus worth billions of US dollars.
Meanwhile, Indonesia’s current account deficit has exceeded US$8 billion, or about 3 percent of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP).
“But we are still doing better than Turkey, Brazil, South Africa and India,” he added as quoted by kompas.com.
Perry assured that the central bank would continue its efforts to maintain the country’s monetary stability. BI increased its seven-day reserve repo rate (7DRRR) by 25 basis points to 5.75 percent soon after the Fed Fund Rate increase. (bbn)
