AN: Rupiah weakens against US dollar on profit-taking
Jakarta (ANTARA News) - The rupiah weakened against the US dollar in the Jakarta interbank spot market here on Wednesday morning as investors tended to sell the local unit for profit.
The Indonesian currency traded Rp9,255-Rp9,265 per US dollar, down 25 points from Rp9,230-Rp9,240 per US dollar at the market`s close a day earlier.
Investors sold the rupiah to take profit and they tended to ignore positive news of the improvement of Wall Street stocks, according to Rully Nova, a research analyst of PT Bank Himpunan Saudara Tbk.
"We predict the rupiah will continue to depreciate this week," he said.
However, he also believed that the rupiah still had a chance to strengthen again, although the local currency was expected to be stable at the level of between Rp9,200 and Rp9,500 per US dollar this year.
Meanwhile, the Composite Stock Price Index (IHSG) at the Indonesian Stock Exchange (BEI) here on Wednesday opened slightly higher on Wall Street gains.
The BEI index rose 14.057 points or 0.15 percent to 2,679.672 points and the LQ-45 index went up 3.496 points or 0.67 percent to 528.516 points.(*)