Rupiah Trades at Rp12,972 per US Dollar at Friday's Start  

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The rupiah interbank exchange rate in Jakarta on Friday morning went up by three points to trade at Rp12,972 per United States (US) dollar. 

"Both Bank Indonesia's statement as well as the government's position do not indicate any worries, which means that the rupiah is still trading within an acceptable band," said the lead researcher at NH Korindo Securities Indonesia, Reza Priyambada. 

Reza added that the easing pressure from Greece had enabled the European Central Bank (ECB) to concentrate on the Eurozone's economic recovery. 

Furthermore, continued Reza, market players were positively responding to the ECB's decision to maintain its low-interest rate policy to aid its economic recovery. "Europe's recovery would help the recovery of the global economy, which will subsequently benefit Indonesia," he said. 

That said, Reza also explained that the rupiah could possibly depreciate further against the greenback, especially if the US Federal Reserve managed to direct investors to move towards US dollar-denominated assets and away from riskier markets. 

An analyst for Bank Himpunan Saudara, Rully Nova, explained that Indonesia's foreign exchange reserves in February 2015, which were predicted to be at around US$114 billion, could possibly provide a positive boost for the rupiah. "There are still enough reserves to pay for six months of imports," he said. 

ANTARA