Rupiah strengthens to 12,652 per dollar

The rupiah exchange rate traded among banks in Jakarta on Wednesday afternoon strengthened by 73 points to Rp 12,652 per US dollar from Rp 12,725.

Mandiri Sekuritas economist Aldian Taloputra said in Jakarta on Wednesday that the rupiah movement within the range of between Rp 12,600 and Rp 12,700 per dollar was quite stable.

'€œThe rupiah exchange rate is still in a weakening trend however it can still be used to push exports; thus, it can reduce Indonesia'€™s trade balance deficit in the future,'€ he said as quoted by Antara news agency in Jakarta on Wednesday.

Aldian said the current weakening trend of the rupiah was also considered normal following huge demand for US dollars ahead of the end of the year. Moreover, he added there had been a government bond-selling action following expectations on the US Federal Reserve'€™s rate increase.

'€œIn the future, the rupiah can get back to a stable level of Rp 12,000 per dollar,'€ he said.

Monex Investindo Futures head of research Ariston Tjendra said the rupiah had moved with a stable volatility. It was predicted that Bank Indonesia (BI) would continue to make interventions in the secondary market amid market worries over results of the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting on Thursday.

'€œMost world currencies, including the rupiah, are still shadowed by the FOMC meeting,'€ said Ariston.

Meanwhile, BI'€™s median rate recorded that the rupiah weakened to Rp 12,720 per dollar on Wednesday from Rp 12,900 the previous day. (ebf)(+++)