"The potential inflation hike in the US remains one of the factors causing the dollar to strengthen because the inflation hike will prompt the Fed to increase its interest rate," money market analyst Reza Priyabada of Binaartha Sekuritas said in Jakarta on Tuesday.
One of the factors pushing the US inflation rate to increase is the creation of more jobs. The number of jobs in the US increased 164,000. Although the figure fell short of the market estimate, it still recorded growth.
After all, he expressed the hope that domestic sentiments towards the results of a survey conducted by Bank Indonesia indicating an increase in retail sale, coupled with the first-quarter economic growth of 5.06 percent may control the fluctuation of the rupiah`s exchange rate, he said.
"The relatively conducive domestic condition may attract investors to invest in rupiah-denominated assets," he said.
Economist Ahmad Mikail of Samuel Sekuritas said the movement of the US dollar was backed by the likelihood of The Fed raising its benchmark interest rate in June.
On the other hand, the movement of the rupiah is still haunted by external sentiments toward uncertainty about whether or not the US will quit from the nuclear pact with Iran has increased oil prices. *
Reporter: Zubi Mahrofi
Editor: Ade P Marboen
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