RUPIAH STRENGTHENS SLIGHTLY AGAINST US DOLLAR

Jakarta, Aug. 31 (ANTARA) - The rupiah strengthened slightly against the US dollar in the Jakarta interbank spot market here early Monday as investors released the greenback.

The Indonesian currency traded at Rp10,050-Rp10,065 per US dollar, up 15 points from Rp10,065-Rp10,075 per US dollar at the market close last weekend.

The local unit surged because investors continued to release the greenback following regional bourse gains, Rully Nova, a foreign exchange analyst of PT Bank Himpunan Saudara Tbk, said.

He considered the surge was relative small because investors were still cautious in entering the market to buy the rupiah and release their dollars in large amount.

Investors also followed closely the Bank Century case which involved a bailout amounting to Rp6.7 trillion from Rp2 trillion approved by the House of Representatives (DPR), he said.

They were worried that the Bank Century problem would prolong and affect the national economic growth, he said.

Therefore, they paid close attention to the reports on the bank developments, he said.

He predicted that the rupiah would further move upward to the level of Rp10,000 per US dollar if the market condition continued to be positive.

"We are optimistic that the market is still positive and the rupiah's exchange rate could reach the level of nearly Rp10,000 per US dollar," he said.
Meanwhile, Edwin Sinaga, the president director of Finan Corpindo Nusa, said the Indonesian currency was looking for a new balance in accordance with the government's assumption targeted at Rp10,000 per Us dollar in 2010.