Rupiah Weakens Against US Dollar

Jakarta, Sept 10 (ANTARA) - The Indonesian currency rupiah weakened against the US dollar on Monday as the market players are awaiting what would come out from the Fed`s planned meeting this week. The currency traded at 9,590 on Monday morning losing 30 points from 9,560 per dollar earlier. "If the Fed opted for quantitative easing (QE) the dollar will fall," Bank Himpunan Saudara`s analyst Rully Nova said here on Monday. Rully said the European Central Bank, which is focused on battling the euro zone debt crisis by buying bonds, will keep the rupiah from falling deeper. "The yields on the bonds issued by ailing economies in Europe would fall strengthening euro as well as risky currencies including rupiah against the US dollar," he added. Meanwhile Indonesia`s manufacturing index, which rose to the level of 51.6 in August from 51.4 in July is expected to continue to provide a positive sentiment for rupiah, he said. "A number of advanced nations has recorded a decline in manufacturing index, while an increase was recorded by Indonesia indicating the country`s economic growth," he said. Samuel Sekuritas` analyst Lana Soelistianingsih said the country`s foreign exchange reserves rose to US$108.99 billion by August from US$106.6 billion in the previous month. The increase was encouraging as it would contribute to strengthening the rupiah and provide positive sentiments for money market investors, Lana said.