Foreign reserves of Malaysia, Indonesia plunge in March

Illustrative image (Photo: theedgemarkets.com)

Hanoi (VNA) - Malaysia's central bank, Bank Negara, said on April 7 that its international reserves stood at 101.7 billion USD as of March 31, down 1.26 percent from March 13.

The bank said in a statement that the reserves position is sufficient to finance 7.7 months of retained imports and is 1.1 times total short-term external debt.

The same day, the Bank Indonesia (BI) said its foreign exchange reserves also dropped in March as the bank has intensified intervention in the financial market to shore up the rupiah.

The reserves decreased to 121 billion USD in March from 130.4 billion USD in February.

The BI said the shrinkage is factored by the payment of foreign debts and stabilisation of the rupiah amid an extraordinary situation due to the panic in the financial market because of the COVID-19 pandemic./.