Indonesia to improve credibility of Jakarta interbank dollar rate

[JAKARTA] Indonesia's central bank will widen the observation period for its Jakarta Interbank Spot Dollar Rate (Jisdor) to strengthen and promote its use as a reference for foreign exchange rates, Governor Perry Warjiyo said on Thursday.

Jisdor is based on interbank transactions of rupiah exchange against the dollar, including transactions with foreign banks, at a specific time.

"The strengthening of Jisdor was carried out to increase the credibility of the domestic foreign exchange market and support exchange rate stability in Indonesia," Bank Indonesia (BI) said in a statement.

Indonesian rupiah, although largely stable in recent months, was often vulnerable to bouts of volatility, requiring the central bank to intervene to help stabilise the currency.

Starting April 5, the observation time for interbank transactions will be expanded to between 8 am and 4 pm to better reflect the day's transactions, and its publication time moved to 4.15 pm.

The observation period is currently between 8 am and 9.45 am and the rate published at 10 am.

REUTERS