JAKARTA, Oct. 7 (Xinhua) -- Indonesia's foreign exchange reserves fell to 148.7 billion U.S. dollars at the end of September, down from 150.7 billion dollars in the previous month, Bank Indonesia said on Tuesday.
The central bank attributed the decline to several external factors affecting financial stability.
"The development was influenced by the government's external debt payments and the central bank's efforts to stabilize the rupiah amid persistently high global financial market uncertainty," said Ramdan Denny Prakoso, executive director of Bank Indonesia's Communication Department.
Despite the decline, Bank Indonesia stated that the current reserve level remains sufficient to finance 6.2 months of imports or six months of imports and government external debt payments, well above the international adequacy standard of about three months of imports.
The central bank emphasized that Indonesia's external resilience remains solid, supported by strong export performance, a surplus in the capital and financial accounts, and positive investor sentiment toward the domestic economy. ■
