"The pressure on the rupiah came mainly from the deficit in the country foreign trade in November, 2012," Samule Sekuritas` economist Lana Soelistianigsih said.
Indonesia suffered a deficit of US$478 million in its international trade in November, 2012.
Lana said at the same time demand for dollar surged to finance oil imports to feed refineries producing subsidized fuel and to service foreign debt.
"The price of Indonesian crude oil tended to increase to reach US$106.9 per barrels in Dec. 2012 exceeding the price target of US$100 used to calculate the 2012 state budget," she said.
She predicted rupiah value will continue to be under pressure against the dollar this week.(*)
Editor: Heru Purwanto
Copyright © ANTARA 2013
