Besides the need to finance oil imports, the reserves have also declined in recent months due to central bank's efforts to support the weakening rupiah (by selling US dollars). However, the bank has ceased these efforts as it became too expensive to curb the depreciation of the currency. Between January and September 2013, the Indonesian rupiah fell about 17.7 percent against the US dollar. As such, it is one of the worst performing currencies in Asia.


US Dollar (USD) to Indonesia Rupiah (IDR) Exchange Rate:

| Source: Bank Indonesia


To support the rupiah, it will be important for Indonesia to tackle its current account deficit. In the second quarter of 2013, Indonesia's current account deficit reached 4.4 percent of the nation's gross domestic product (GDP). In the third quarter, Bank Indonesia expects its to moderate to 2.7 percent of GDP.

     2008    2009
   2010    2011    2012    2013²
Foreign Exchange
Reserves¹
   51.6    66.1    96.2   110.1   112.8    95.7

¹ in billion USD dollar
² at end September 2013
Source: Bank Indonesia

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