BI KEEPS CONSTANT WATCH ON VOLATILITY OF RUPIAH'S EXCHANGE RATE

Jakarta, Feb. 20 (ANTARA) - Bank Indonesia (BI, the country's central bank) has been keeping a constant watch on the volatility of the rupiah's exchange rate against the US dollar which has weakened past Rp12,000 per US dollar over the past three days.

The rupiah's fall against the US greenback was actually a global phenomena because the US dollar currently gained against many currencies, BI Governor Boediono said after a meeting with President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono at the presidential office here on Friday.
However, BI would protect the rupiah from further volatility by using the existing instruments, he said.
"We will surely keep an eye on the rupiah to prevent it from excessive volatility. We will secure it, and we will use instruments that we have to control the volatility," he said.
If necessary, BI would add 'ammunition' to curb the rupiah volatility, he said, without giving no details on the instruments and 'ammunition' that he had mentioned.
"We are going to use the existing ammunitions, and if necessary, we will add the ammunitions," the BI chief said.
President Yudhoyono held a meeting with BI Governor Boediono and Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs concurrently Finance Minister Sri Mulyani at his office on Friday to discuss preparations for the Chiang Mai Initiative Meeting which will be attended by finance ministers of ASEAN+3 (China, Japan, and South Korea) this week.
The rupiah's exchange rate fell 90 points against the US dollar in the Jakarta interbank spot market here on Friday morning, on high demand for the greenback.
The Indonesian currency traded at Rp12,050/12,060 per US dollar, down 90 points from Rp11,960/11,975 per US dollar in the market's close a day earlier.
Market players needed dollars to buy bonds the US government had issued to raise fresh funds to boost economic growth, according to a a foreign currency analyst.