Rupiah Slightly Recovers to Close Just Above Rp 14,000

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Rupiah's interbank exchange rate in Jakarta went up by 3 points at the end of Friday's trading session - closing at Rp 13,987 against the greenback, or up from its' previous position at Rp 13,990 per US Dollar.

An analyst for Bank Himpunan Saudara, Rully Nova said in Jakarta on Friday said that the Rupiah's appreciation is caused by a slight jerk in the market, which is anticipating a Fed fund rate hike in September.

"Domestically, the government's policies which supports its' commitment to empower the real sector has managed to help the Rupiah defend its' value against external sentiments," said Rully.

Rully added that President Joko Widodo's earlier statement that the government has prepared a number of strategies to deal with the greenback's continued appreciation should not be a mere lip service - that some gears need to be moved to prevent the Rupiah from slipping further.

That said, continued Rully, the Rupiah is prone to further depreciations if the US manages to post a healthy Gross Domestic Product (GDP) value for the second quarter (Q2) of 2015 and a robust employment figures - two things that may drive the Fed to raise its' Fund rate in September.

"The belief that the Fed will raise its' Fund rate in September is casting a shadow on the Rupiah's uptrend," said Rully.

The Head of Research for Monex Investindo Futures, Ariston Tjendra, concurs with Rully, and said that once the US reaches its' inflation targets, then chances are the Fed will indeed raise its' rate in September. "Once the value matches with the market's expectations, the Rupiah is set to slide some more," he said.

The Rupiah's middle rate on Friday stands at Rp 14,011 at closing - up from its' previous position at Rp 14,128 per US Dollar.

ANTARANEWS