RUPIAH STRENGTHENS AGAINST US DOLLAR

Jakarta, Oct. 20 (ANTARA) - The rupiah strengthened against the US dollar in the Jakarta interbank spot market here on Tuesday morning coinciding with the inauguration of Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono as president and Boediono as vice president.

The Indonesian currency traded Rp9,360-Rp9,370 per US dollar, up 30 points from Rp9,390-Rp9,400 at the market's close a day earlier.

The presidential inauguration generated a positive sentiment in the domestic money market, according to Harry Kurniawan, a domestic money market observer.

Investors actively bought the rupiah which prompted the local unit to gain, he said.

Wall Street gains and the weakening of the US greenback also helped bolster the rupiah, he said.

"We are optimistic that the rupiah will further move upward to the level of Rp9,300 per US dollar, after the president appoints ministers who have undergone fit and proper tests," he said.

For the time being, the rupiah would stay at Rp9,350-Rp9,370 per US dollar as investors were still waiting for the upcoming cabinet lineup, he said.

Meanwhile, another domestic money market observer, Farial Anwar, predicted that economic grwoth in 2010 would be better than this year.

The rupiah had a big chance of reaching the level of Rp9,000 per US dollar in the future, he said.

Anwar, concurrently director of the Currency Management Board, said the presidential inauguration today boosted the Indonesian currency's exchange rate.

He also believed that foreign investors would place more money in Indonesia's markets, although he said some the persons likely to be appointed to economic posts in the new cabinet were rather unfit for the job.