Rupiah Strengthens Slightly To Rp13,650 on Monday's Opening

Jakarta, (Antaranews Sumbar) - The Indonesian rupiah on Monday morning has strengthened by two points to Rp13,650 per US dollar from last week's closing at Rp13,652 on the Jakarta Interbank Spot Dollar Rate. Binaartha Securities analyst Riza Priyambada noted here on Monday that the positive sentiment triggered by financial credit growth had led the rupiah to appreciate against the dollar. Current financial credit has been growing up to seven percent annually that is also supporting domestic economic growth. "Increase in credit distribution is supporting domestic growth, and eventually, it will help the rupiah to appreciate," he noted. Priyambada also lauded the intervention of Bank Indonesia, the Indonesian central bank, in stabilizing the fluctuating exchange rate of the rupiah that has allowed it to appreciate. However, Priyambada warned that the rupiah's resilience might be affected by the possibility of the Fed hiking its rate that would trigger a higher demand for the US dollar. "High market expectations for the Fed's rate hike are potentially strengthening the US dollar rate," he said. However, there is still a likelihood of the rupiah continuing to appreciate, following the probability of the return of foreign investment in the government's bond market, according to Samuel Securities' economist Ahmad Mikail. With this trend, Mikail has forecast that the rupiah will continue to move in the safe area at around Rp13,650 to Rp13,670 per US dollar. (*)