Rupiah Flat 9.712 To US Dollar

Jakarta, April 1(Antara) - The Indonesian currency rupiah stayed at 9,712 to the US dollar in inter-bank transaction on Monday morning. "The closure of most markets during the Easter holiday gave limited room for currency movements," chief researcher of Monex Investindo Futures, Ariston Tjendra, said here on Monday. Ariston said currency movements are also shadowed by worries over losses suffered by Cypriot banks and probably also by other banks in Europe. There are also worries brought about by the tension in the Korean peninsula with North Korea readied for war against the United States and South Korea, he said. Meanwhile, market observer Ruly Nova from Bank Himpunan Saudara, said the rupiah might weaken on market expectation of trade deficit to be suffered still by the country. "Deficit is expected with instability in the prices of Indonesian commodities," Ruly said. In addition external sentiment still tended to be negative especially from Europe, he said, adding, banks in Portugal, Spain and Italy would likely face difficulty in raising third party funds. The banking deposit control in Cyprus is feared to spread to other countries in the euro zone, he said.