RUPIAH WEAKENS TO NEARLY RP11,000 PER US DOLLAR EARLY WEDNESDAY

Jakarta, Nov. 5 (ANTARA) - The rupiah weakened to nearly Rp11,000 per US dollar in the Jakarta interbank spot market as market players remained worried over the current global financial crisis.

"The rupiah is under pressure because investors remain worried over the present condition, so they buy US dollars," President Director of Finance Corpindo Edwin Sinaga said here on Wednesday.
The rupiah traded at Rp10,900/10.950 per US dollar, down 100 points from Rp10,800/10.900 per US dollars when it closed a day earlier.
The market pressure not only happened in Indonesia but also in almost all countries, he said.
However, he predicted the US dollar surge would not last long because it was just a mechanism of currencies in various countries to to adjust their exchange value.
All foreign currencies in emerging markets in many countries also plunged, including the rupiah, he said.
Indonesia's central bank, Bank Indonesia (BI), was facing a tough choice in making a policy, he said.
BI rose its key interest rate to deal with the rupiah's plunge, but Indonesia's purchasing power was weak, he said, adding, therefore BI was in a difficult position.
The Indonesian currency would likely to stay at the level of between 10,800 and Rp10,950 per US dollar, he said.
He believed that BI continued to supervise the movement of both currencies in the money market and make intervention to protect the rupiah.