Yudhoyono Monitoring Rupiah Exchange Rate

Jakarta, June 11 (Antara) - President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono is monitoring the movement of the rupiah exchange rate against the US dollar and coordinating with the central bank governor with regard to it. "The mechanism is working. The President keeps monitoring, evaluating and watching the movement of the rupiah exchange rate," presidential special aide for economic affairs Firmansyah said at the State Palace here on Tuesday. He said the government hoped the rate would remain between Rp9,500 and Rp9,800 against the US dollar. "If it is is too high it will not be good for our exports but if it drops too much it will not be good for our imports," he said. Firmansyah said minimally there were two aspects that have affected fluctuation of the rupiah exchange rate against the US dollar. "We saw two aspects. The first is regional and global pressures on exchange rates which has more or less been affecting our rupiah. The second is as we all know from several media that we are still awaiting a decision on a fuel price hike," he said.