Indonesia sees rupiah trading in 3-5pc range this year

JAKARTA: Indonesia's central bank said on Monday it expected the rupiah to trade within a 3 to 5 percent range from 12,500 per dollar this year.

The government had assumed the rupiah to trade at 12,500 per dollar on average in 2015 in the state budget.

"The 12,500 level is average for a year and it is possible that it (the rupiah) will strengthen or weaken by 3 to 5 percent," Bank Indonesia Governor Agus Martowardojo told reporters on Monday.

Martowardojo said the recent weakening of the rupiah, which touched a fresh 17-year low of 12,995 per dollar on Monday, was a reflection of the strength of the US currency.

"What we can do is manage our fuel subsidies better, maintain inflation, and we hope the state budget can be executed so that we can improve the state of the economy," he added.