REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA -- Indonesia's rupiah exchange rate strengthened by 73 basis points at the interbank trade on Thursday afternoon to Rp12,557 from previously Rp12,630 against the US dollar.

"The rupiah strengthened along with other Asian currencies against the US dollar in the global market," PT Samuel Sekuritas Indonesia (SSI) economist Rangga Cipta noted here on Monday (12/1).

According to him, the decrease in non-farm payrolls and the US labor force participation rate prevented the dollar from strengthening.

Cipta pointed out that the rupiah's appreciation was also triggered by positive sentiment in the country following decreasing levels of inflation.

"The postponement in increasing the electricity rate has helped to reduce inflation expectations in 2015," he explained.

Moreover, Cipta said the strong expectations of financial market participants regarding the trade balance helped to increase the positive sentiment for the domestic currency.

"The combination of low inflation and the improvement in Indonesia's trade balance will support a stronger rupiah in the future," he affirmed.

Head of Research from Woori Korindo Securities Indonesia Reza Priyambada stated that the rate of the US dollar was retained along with the strengthening of the UK's pound sterling and the Japanese yen.

"The conditions could be used by money market participants to transact with the rupiah. The rate of the rupiah is expected to strengthen again by the presence of other hard currency," Priyambada noted.

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