"The rupiah is relatively stable, and so is regional sentiment on other Asian currencies."Jakarta (ANTARA News) - Indonesia`s rupiah strengthened slightly against the dollar on Monday morning after US gross domestic product (GDP) data signaled a slowdown in the US economy in the first quarter of 2012, a money market observer said.
The local unit traded at Rp9,183 per dollar in the inter-bank spot market in Jakarta on Monday morning, up by two points from the previous close of Rp9,185 per dollar.
"The rupiah rose on positive sentiment after the US released its GDP data that signaled a slowdown in the US economy in the first quarter of 2012," Johanes Ginting of Monex Investindo Futures said here on Monday.
He noted that the rupiah also got a boost from Europe, following the strong demand for Italian bonds, which eased worries about a sluggish bond market after the downgrade of the Spanish sovereign debt rating.
"After all, investors appear to be bearish about the prospects of European countries` economies as the Spanish data show slowdown, with almost a quarter of its labour force unemployed and retail sales continuing to decline," Johanes said.
Analyst Lana Soelistianingsih of Samuel Sekuritas said that despite the downgrade of the Spanish sovereign debt rating, the rupiah still had a chance to strengthen at a range of Rp9,180 to Rp9,190 per dollar.
"The rupiah is relatively stable, and so is regional sentiment on other Asian currencies," she added.
Lana said the foreign holding of the Indonesian state bonds rose by Rp3.6 trillion (US$393 million) in the first three weeks of April 2012 from Rp224.72 trillion to Rp228.32 trillion.
"Though S&P has postponed the upgrade of the Indonesian sovereign debt rating, market players have given a neutral response to the decision," she said.
(Uu.S012/INE/KR-BSR/O001)
Editor: Priyambodo RH
Copyright © ANTARA 2012
