Rupiah closes at 12,496 per dollar

JAKARTA. The rupiah interbank trade rate in Jakarta in Thursday’s closing session weakened by 20 basis points to Rp 12,496 per US dollar from its previous Rp 12,476 per dollar.

“Trends in the financial markets varied in the final trading session, depreciating the rupiah after it recorded growth earlier in the morning,” Monex Investindo Futures analyst Zulfirman Basir said as quoted by Antara news agency.

In the domestic market, he said that the recent endorsement of two regulations in lieu of law (Perppu) to reinstate direct elections for regional heads and the high possibility that the House of Representatives will approve the draft of the revised 2015 state budget sparked optimism about political stability in Indonesia.

However, in the international markets, the European Central Bank (ECB), which currently is preparing for a meeting regarding its quantitative easing programs, has increased the demand for the US dollar.

“This situation creates negative trends for the rupiah. But the rupiah is still relatively stable,” he said.

Meanwhile, Bank Indonesia data showed that the domestic currency appreciated to Rp 12,451 per US dollar by 4 p.m. on Thursday from Rp 12,557 per dollar in the earlier trading.