Indonesia's chief economic minister comfortable with rupiah at current level

[JAKARTA] Indonesia's chief economic minister said on Monday that he was comfortable with the country's rupiah currency at its current level.

The Indonesian rupiah hit its lowest level in 17 years last month and traders say there's risk of further downside for the currency on expectations the Federal Reserve will start hiking US interest rates later this year. It is currently trading at about 12,872 rupiah per dollar. "12,800 (rupiah) is a more comfortable level," Sofyan Djalil said, but was quick to note that the government was not setting any specific target for the rupiah. He added that the rupiah had depreciated too much when it slipped to around 13,300 last month.

Indonesia's central bank kept its benchmark interest rate unchanged last week, as widely expected, saying the existing level is consistent with efforts to contain inflation and the current account deficit.

REUTERS