Indonesia central bank not worried if forex reserves drop below US$100b

[JAKARTA] Indonesia's central bank governor said on Tuesday he was not worried if the country's foreign exchange reserves fall below US$100 billion.

Asked if he was concerned about such a possibility, Agus Martowardojo told reporters: "No, we have been below US$100 billion before and it's a monetary instrument for us." The central bank governor told parliament on Monday that reserves had fallen to US$103 billion from US$105.35 billion at the end of last month.

The central bank often uses foreign exchange reserves to defend the weakening rupiah, which dropped to a 17-year low of 14,493 to the dollar earlier on Tuesday.

REUTERS