RUPIAH WEAKENS WEDNESDAY DESPITE DIMINISHED PRESSURE

Jakarta, Feb 11 (ANTARA) - The rupiah closed lower at Rp11,785/11,830 against the US dollar in the Jakarta interbank spot market late Wednesday despite declining market pressure on the local unit, a money market observer said.
The market pressure on the rupiah eased as Bank Indonesia (the central bank/BI) intervened in the market, PT Bank Mega Retail Banking Director Kostaman Thayib said on Wednesday.
The Indonesian currency traded at Rp11,785/11,830 per dollar late Wednesday compared to Rp11,720/11,750 per dollar the day before, down 65 points.
The central bank's intervention raised hope that the rupiah would always be kept at below Rp12,000 per dollar, he said.
However, the rupiah still came under pressure because of negative sentiment, he said.
"We predict the rupiah will come under constant pressure due to high market sentiment," he said.
The rupiah's current weakening was merely caused by market players' doubt about what stimulus the US government would take, he said.
The $838 billion US economic rescue plan approved by the Senate was still unclear, he said