JAKARTA (Yosefardi) – The rupiah fell further 0.73% to Rp14,658 against the US dollar at 3.16 pm Jakarta time, Bloomberg quoted. While central bank (Bank Indonesia) recorded mid rate of rupiah at Rp14,623 per dollar.
Agus Martowardojo, governor of central bank (Bank Indonesia/BI), said the current rupiah level is undervalue and overshoot.
Vice President Jusuf Kalla urges to curb the import in attempt to maintain the foreign exchange (forex) reserves and to support the rupiah.
Kalla said that the government is now preparing a policy system to boost the forex reserves. “We still keep the free forex system but we need other system to support (our) economy,” he told the press Tuesday.
BI’s Agus said the current level of forex reserves (US$103 billion at September 20) is still sufficient amid current global factors.
BI earlier said pressures on rupiah mainly originated from the Yuan devaluation policy of the People’s Bank of China combined with uncertainty over the proposed FFR hike in the United States.
Domestically, however, demand for US dollars surged in order to service foreign debt, which exacerbated the Rupiah overshoot.