RUPIAH WEAKENS AGAINST US DOLLAR EARLY TUESDAY

Jakarta, May 26 (ANTARA)- The rupiah weakened against the US dollar at the Jakarta interbank spot market here early Tuesday on profit taking moves.

The Indonesian currency traded at Rp10,310-Rp10,320 per US dollar, down 10 points from Rp10,300-Rp10,310 per US dollar at the market's
close a day earlier.

The market's sentiment was still negative and had caused the rupiah to depreciate since a day earlier, Rully Nova, a foreign currency analyst of PT Bank Himpunan Saudara Tbk, said here on Tuesday.

However, the negative sentiment was expected to weaken because investors noticed that the US dollar fell against Japanese yen.

The greenback tumbled because investors were in doubt about US economic growth following a plunge in the retail sector which would trigger an increase in unemployment in the US, he said.

Besides, the US government had not yet taken over automotive industry General Motors which was facing a financial problem, he said.

Therefore, he believed the rupiah still had a chance to strengthen and reach the level of below Rp10,300 per US dollar.

"We are optimistic that the domestic money market will be positive again and the rupiah will gain to nearly Rp10,200 per US dollar," he said.