REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA -- The Indonesian rupiah traded at Rp13,622 per dollar in the Jakarta inter-bank spot market Wednesday evening, up 16 points from the previous close of Rp13,638 per dollar.
"The technical factor is one of the sentiments pushing the rupiah to strengthen against the US dollar. Some of the money market players were involved in profit-taking by capitalizing on the US dollar which has strengthened too much against the rupiah," money market analyst Lukman Leong of securities firm Platon Niaga Berjangka said.
On the other hand, global crude prices increased again, adding to positive sentiments towards the domestic currency, he said.
WTI crude rose 1.01 percent US$49.11 per barrel and Brent crude increased 1.03 percent to $49.11 per barrel.
However, the looming Fed fund rate hike cast a shadow on the rupiah's appreciation against the dollar, and that the movement of the local unit is limited, he said.
"The trend of developing countries' currencies including the rupiah will still be negative until the Fed raises its fund rate this year," he said.
He expressed the hope that the decision of Fitch Ratings to reinstate the investment grade to Indonesia will have a positive impact on the psychological behavior of money market players.
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