Indonesia's Near to Economic Crisis

Indonesia plans to raise fuel prices and cut fuel subsidies in an effort to underpin its currency, the president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said.

Aware that one of his predecessors was toppled by attempts to cut subsidies, the president insisted that the changes would not hurt the nation's poorest.

The rupiah has tumbled this month after being sold by Indonesia for US dollars to pay for crude oil imports.

Only an interest rate rise by Bank Indonesia on Tuesday halted the rupiah's slump and helped bring investors back to the stock market.