Rupiah Opens Weaker On Thursday

Jakarta (Antara Bali) - The Indonesian rupiah continued its slide against the U.S. dollar, losing 5 points during the Thursday morning session, in the wake of reports about Spain not seeking a bailout in the near future.

"The weakening of rupiah against the U.S. dollar was triggered by the negative impact of Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy¿s statement that he would not apply for a bailout at the Euro Group meeting to be held next week," Trust Securities analyst Reza Priyambada said here on Thursday.

The rupiah declined against the dollar on the Jakarta interbank market, touching Rp9,610 per dollar, compared with the previous day's close of Rp9,605.

"The other negative sentiment came from reports about the widening of Australia's trade deficit," he noted.

"On the other hand, the rupiah's weakening has been slightly restrained after the relatively good performance of Indonesia's services sector index and the rise in retail sales to the euro area," Reza added.

 Meanwhile, Ruly Nova, a market observer from the Bank Himpunan Saudara, pointed out that investors were still concerned about Indonesia's trade deficit, which had a negative influence on the country's exchange rate.(IGT)