Rupiah ends at new low, minister's remark ignored<\/p>\n
Dow Jones\/Jakarta<\/p>\n
The Indonesian rupiah slipped to yet another fresh 41-month
\nlow against the dollar on Tuesday as foreign investors exited the
\nlocal capital market, dealers said.<\/p>\n
The market ignored Finance Minister Jusuf Anwar's remark that
\nhe expected the rupiah to recover.<\/p>\n
The dollar closed at Rp 10,095 versus Rp 10,030 on Monday.
\nThis is the dollar's highest close since March 1, 2002, when it
\nclosed at Rp 10,103.<\/p>\n
The greenback briefly touched an intraday high of Rp 10,130 in
\nafternoon trade, but suspected intervention by Bank Indonesia
\npulled the unit off its peak, dealers said.<\/p>\n
Dealers said Bank Indonesia sold dollars in the market but the
\nintervention only helped the rupiah a little.<\/p>\n
\"Dollar demand was healthy, mostly coming from foreign
\ninvestors who recently sold Indonesian stocks,\" a dealer with a
\nforeign bank said.<\/p>\n
The Jakarta Stock Exchange's main index dropped nearly 1
\npercent Tuesday, bringing its total loss to 10.7 percent since
\nthe beginning of the month.<\/p>\n
Foreign investors have been selling local stocks as rising oil
\nprices weakened the rupiah. Foreign investors' move to exchange
\nrupiah into dollars to take their funds out of the country
\nfurther pushed the local unit lower.<\/p>\n
Minister of Finance Anwar earlier said the rupiah may yet
\nstrengthen against the greenback but didn't mention when he
\nexpected the local unit to appreciate. Anwar added that the
\nimpact of the rupiah's weakness on the state budget remains
\nmanageable.<\/p>\n
\"Dollar buying from foreign investors may ease Wednesday as
\nlocal stocks are expected to rebound,\" a dealer with a local
\ncompany said.<\/p>\n
Dealers in the stock market expect bargain hunters to only
\njump into the market Wednesday if the rupiah is stable around
\ncurrent levels.<\/p>\n
Dealers expect the dollar to trade between Rp 10,050 and
\nRp 10,125 on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
Indonesian shares ended lower for the eighth consecutive
\nsession Tuesday as the U.s. dollar briefly topped Rp 10,100,
\nexacerbating fears Indonesia's economy won't grow as expected
\nthis year, dealers said.<\/p>\n
After hitting a 41-month high of Rp 10,120 on Tuesday, the
\ndollar was trading at Rp 10,095 at 0900 GMT, compared with its
\nprevious close of Rp 10,030, on rising dollar demand from local
\ncompanies to repay dollar-denominated debts by the end of the
\nmonth.<\/p>\n
The Indonesian Government expects the economy to expand by 6
\npercent this year, compared with 5 percent in 2004.<\/p>\n
\"Selling pressure continued on lingering worries that the
\nweaker rupiah could hurt 2005 economic growth,\" said a trader
\nwith Kuo Capital Securities.<\/p>\n
The Jakarta Stock Exchange's Composite Index ended 1 percent
\nlower, or 10.261 points, at 1066.092. The main index has fallen
\nnearly 11 percent since it hit an all-time high of 1192.203, on
\nAugust 3.<\/p>\n
Decliners led gainers 97 to 36, with 56 stocks unchanged.
\nVolume rose to 4.6 billion shares valued at Rp 1.2 trillion,
\ncompared with 1.2 billion shares valued at Rp 963 billion on
\nMonday.<\/p>\n
Dealers said consumer and bank blue chips were the hardest hit
\nby the weaker rupiah, which could weaken purchasing power and
\nforce the central bank to continue to increase key interest
\nrates.<\/p>\n
Cigarette maker Gudang Garam dropped 3.5 percent to Rp 11,000,
\nand cement maker Semen Gresik lost 5.5 percent to Rp 17,100, with
\nweaker purchasing power expected to hurt the companies' 2005
\nsales.<\/p>\n
Bank Mandiri, the nation's largest bank by assets, lost 2.6
\npercent to Rp 1,510. Bank Rakyat ended 4.7 percent lower at
\nRp 2,550, and Bank Panin was down 3.2 percent at Rp 460.<\/p>\n
Pharmaceutical company Kalbe Farma ended down 3.5 percent at
\nRp 830, on fears the weaker rupiah could increase the cost of
\nimported raw materials.<\/p>\n
Dealers said they expect Indonesian shares to trade flat to
\nslightly higher on Tuesday on bargain hunting after recent sharp
\nfalls.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/rupiah-ends-at-new-low-ministers-remark-ignored-1447893297",
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