Rupiah Slides by 65 Points on Monday Morning

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Rupiah's interbank exchange rate in Jakarta slid by 65 points at the start of Monday's trading session. The Rupiah began trading at Rp12,250 per United States (US) Dollar, down from its previous position at Rp12,185 per US Dollar.

An analyst for Samuel Sekuritas, Rangga Cipta, said in Jakarta that Rupiah's fluctuations are largely driven by the sentiments of global investor - especially in light of the planned release of Indonesia's economic performance figures by the Central Statistics Agency (BPS) on December 1.

"In line with the general movements of Asian currencies of late, the Rupiah is depreciating against the US Dollar. That said, the Rupiah is faring much better when compared with the performance of the majority of currencies across Asia," said Rangga.

Rangga predicts that November's inflation figure will rise by six percent, and that Indonesia's transactional deficit throughout October will be somewhat reduced.

The Head of Research at Monex Investindo Futures, Ariston Tjendra, said that falling global crude oil prices are pushing the greenback into an uptrend, as lower oil prices may drive US consumers to spend, which in turn will stimulate its domestic economy.

"At present, the US Dollar is an attractive alternative for investors who are looking to avoid losses," said Ariston.

According to Ariston, falling oil prices - the issue of which is compounded by the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) decision to not put a cap on its aggregate production - is causing worries of a dangerous oversupply of crude oil among investors in the market, who are already anxiously waiting for China, Japan, and the Eurozone to publish its most recent economic performance figures.

ANTARA NEWS | ZUBI MAHROFI | FITRI SUPRATIWI