RUPIAH WEAKENS AGAINST US DOLLAR ON PROFIT TAKING MOVES

Jakarta, Jan. 15 (ANTARA) - The rupiah weakened against the US dollar in the Jakarta interbank spot market here on Friday morning on profit taking moves.

The Indonesian currency traded Rp9,200-Rp9,210 per US dollar, down 40 points from Rp9,160-Rp9,170 at the market's close a day earlier.

The rupiah's position was quite safe, there was nothing to worry about, said Edwin Sinaga, a domestic money market observer.

He said it would be hard for the local unit to reach the level of Rp9,000 per US dollar because Bank Indonesia (BI) continued to guard the rupiah's movements.

Edwin Sinaga, concurrently president director of PT Finan Corpindo Nusa, said the ideal position of the rupiah currently should be at between Rp9,200 and Rp9,500 per US dollar.

At that position, both exporters and importers could run their businesses at the export markets, he said.

He believed that Indonesia was still a lucrative market for investors.

Meanwhile, the Composite Stock Price Index (IHSG) at the Indonesian Stock Exchange (BEI) here on Friday morning got off a strong start as investors hunted automotive shares in particular.

The BEI index went up 4.412 points or 0.16 percent to 2,648.642 points and the LQ-45 index rose 1.308 point or 0.26 percent to 522.190 points.