RUPIAH SLIGHTLY DOWN EARLY MONDAY

Jakarta, March 30 (ANTARA) - The rupiah slightly weakened against the US dollar in the Jakarta interbank spot market early Monday.

The Indonesian currency traded at Rp11,510/11,525 per US dollar, down 15 points from Rp11,495/11,505 per US dollar.
"Dollar purchases by market players are relatively small because they tend to be careful so that market pressure on the rupiah was not so strong," Kostaman Thayib, retail banking director of PT Bank Mega Tbk, said here on Monday.
The rupiah was still at around Rp11,500 per US dollar although the local currency slightly dropped, he said.
The condition showed that market players were still waiting for local funds deposited overseas to reenter the country in the runup to the general elections later this year, he said.
The rupiah's depreciation would not last long and the currency still had a quite big chance to strengthen again if local businessman's funds could come in a big amount from abroad, he said.
The local unit was expected to reach the level of Rp11,000 per US dollar in the near future as it had surged last week following foreign funds influx from China, Singapore and the Middle East wishing to invest in Indonesia, he said.
"We are optimistic that the rupiah will move upward again, it's just a matter of time," he said.