RUPIAH WEAKENS SIGNIFICANTLY AGAINST GREENBACK

Jakarta, Aug. 8 (ANTARA) - The rupiah weakened significantly against the US dollar in the Jakarta interbank spot market here on Tuesday morning as foreign investors released the local currency to buy the greenback.

The Indonesian currency traded at Rp10,005-Rp10,015 per US dollar, down 80 points from Rp9,925-Rp9,945 per US dollar at the market's close last weekend.

The US government's bond offers triggered pressure at the domestic money market as foreign investors actively purchased the bonds, prompting the rupiah to plunge over the level of Rp10,000 per US dollar, Edwin Sinaga, a domestic money market observer said.

The US bond offers got positive responses from the public, indicating that the market was positive toward the economic growth.

"We are optimistic that the US economy will grow in accordance with the plan," he said.

Although the local currency tumbled, its position at the level of around Rp10,000 per US dollar was still in line with the Indonesian macro economic assumption, he said.

However, he believed that Bank Indonesia (BI, the country's central bank) might enter the domestic money market and release some greenback to prevent further market pressure, he said.

The rupiah would improve soon as foreign investors still considered Indonesia a potential market, he said.