RUPIAH STRENGTHENS AGAINST US DOLLAR LATE MONDAY

Jakarta, May 11 (ANTARA) - The rupiah strengthened against the US dollar in the Jakarta interbank spot market here on Monday afternoon as investors' interest in the local currency was still high.

The Indonesian currency traded Rp10,305/10,310 per US dollar, up 65 points from Rp10.370/10.380 at the market's close a day earlier.

The position of the rupiah was getting better as investors' interest in the local currency was getting higher, Rully Nova, a foreign currency analyst of PT Bank Himpunan Saudara Tbk., said here on Monday.

The favorable condition was also reflected at the Indonesian bourse where the share transaction value jumped from Rp2 trillion to Rp9 trillion, he said.

Bigger amount of funds invested at the domestic market showed that Indonesia was still a potential market in the eyes of foreign investors, he said.

"We are optimistic that the Indonesian market is still able to give better profit than those in other Asian countries," he said.

The local currency was expected to reach the level of Rp10,000 per US dollar as the market's positive sentiment remained high, he said.

If the implementation of the upcoming presidential and vice presidential elections scheduled for July 8, 2009, could run peacefully and smoothly, the domestic market condition would be even better, he said.