RUPIAH WEAKENS 50 POINTS AGAINST US DOLLAR

Jakarta, June 15 (ANTARA) - The rupiah tumbled against the US dollar in the Jakarta interbank spot market early Monday as investors continued to buy the greenback in moderate amounts.

The Indonesian currency traded at Rp10,120-Rp10,135 per US dollar, down 50 points from Rp10,070-Rp10,085 at the market's close last weekend.

The rupiah's position at the level of between Rp10,050 and Rp10,200 per US dollar was considered stable, Suriyanto Chang, head of PT Bank OCBC NISP's Treasury Division, said here on Monday.

The local unit's movements were still sound and not worrying as it was still within an the appropriate range, he said.

There was even an analyst who predicted that the rupiah would weaken further to the level of Rp10,500 per US dollar due to excessive purchases of the greenback, he said.

However, Chang believed the rupiah would not tumble to that level as there were indications the Indonesian currency would strengthen again.

According to Chang, the fluctuations of the rupiah which had earlier reached the level of below Rp10,000 per US dollar were nothing to worry about as the rupiah could climb or fall anytime.

But he predicted that in the future the positive sentiment toward the local currency would still be high as reflected by the active transactions by foreign investors who had put their funds in the domestic market.

Meanwhile, president director of PT Finance Corpindo Nusa Edwin Sinaga said the rupiah's current movement was still normal despite its moderate depreciation.

It was just a matter of time for the Indonesian currency to surge again as it would be boosted by rallies in Wall Street and regional bourses as well as improving national economic indicators, he said.