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Foreign reserves hit highest ever in August with IMF funds
Foreign reserves stood in August at US$144.8 billion, reaching a record-high as the country received an additional allocation of the special drawing rights from the International Monetary Fund.
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Money matters: A Bank Mandiri employee counts US dollar bills at the state bank’s cash center in Jakarta. Indonesia’s foreign reserves have increased in the last four months. (JP/Dhoni Setiawan)
B
ank Indonesia (BI) reported on Tuesday that Indonesia’s foreign reserves rose in August to US$144.8 billion, the highest ever in Indonesia’s history, as the country received additional reserve assets from the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
The foreign reserves are sufficient to cover 9.1 months of imports or 8.7 months of imports and debt services. This is higher than the international standard of three months.
BI spokesperson Erwin Haryono said the foreign reserves would help maintain the resilience of the country’s external sector and maintain macroeconomic and financial system stability.
“Going forward, Bank Indonesia believes the foreign reserves will remain sufficient, supported by the stability and prospects of the economy in line with various policy responses to support the economic recovery,” Erwin was quoted in a press release as saying on Tuesday.
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Foreign reserves have shown a general upward trend, especially since March 2020, with the import coverage estimate peaking in January this year at 10.5 months of imports. Foreign reserves last hit their highest ever at $138.8 billion in April.
Erwin said the latest increase in foreign reserves was driven in part by the additional allocation of 4.46 billion special drawing rights (SDRs) from the IMF, which amounted to $6.31 billion. SDRs are international reserve assets to support IMF member countries.
