Abra Talattov from the economic think tank Institute for Development of Economics and Finance (INDEF) said the Fed is not expected to raise its fund rate by the end this month.
"Rupiah still has the potential to gain more strength as the market did not expect the Fed to raise its fund rate by the end this month," Abra said here on Friday.
Since early November 2018, Rupiah has strengthened after hitting the rock bottom of more than 15,000 per dollar. On Dec. 3 rupiah even traded at the level of 14,200 , but it weakened again in the following days.
Based on Bank Indonesia middle rate , rupiah exchange rate was 14,539 per U.S. dollar weakening from the previous level of 14,507.
"The rupiah gain since early this week was attributable to the government issuing a global bond of US$3 billion," Abra said.
He said indeed there had been impact of the relaxation of trade rift between the United States and China for 90 days, but he said there was still risk of outbreak of the trade war again if the two world`s economic giants failed to reach a compromise.
He said the arrest and extradition of Finance Director of Huawei Tech. in Canada on charge of violation of the U.S. sanction against Iran might sharpen tension between China and the United States.
He predicted that rupiah would hover around the level of 14,400 to 14,700 per dollar until the end of the year. Reporting by Citro Atmoko (T.C005/AS/S012)
Reporter: Antara
Editor: Andi Abdussalam
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