Rupiah Edges Up 33 Points at Tuesday's Start  

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The rupiah interbank exchange rate in Jakarta went up by 33 points to trade at Rp12,927 per United States (US) dollar on Tuesday morning, up from its previous position at Rp12,960 per US dollar. 

"After having flatlined for a while, the rupiah is moving upwards against the US dollar as short-term investors are choosing to take profit from the greenback's significant appreciation, which began on Monday," said an analyst for Platon Niaga Berjangka, Lukman Leong, in Jakarta on Tuesday. 

On the other hand, Lukman added that recent economic releases made public by the Central Statistics Agency (BPS) indicated that Indonesia's economy is performing well. Indonesia posted a 0.36 percent deflation for the month of February and saw a trade surplus of US$709.4 million for the month of January. 

"Such conditions could help alleviate pressure on the currency, which might possibly help it rebound," said Lukman. 

Robust economic recovery in the US, however, is still shadowing the rupiah's uptrend—in fact, favorable economic conditions in the US could still cause a rise in demand for the greenback within the domestic market. 

"Should these conditions continue, the Federal Reserve Bank of America could decide to raise its fund rate, which will draw foreign capital out of riskier markets, such as Indonesia," said Lukman, who also said that investors were worried by the fact that People's Bank of China had decided to lower its core interest rate—sparking speculation of a serious economic slowdown in the world's second largest economy. 

ANTARA