RUPIAH WEAKENS AGAINST US DOLLAR ON PROFIT TAKING MOVES

Jakarta, March 11 (ANTARA) - The rupiah weakened against the US dollar in the Jakarta interbank spot market Thursday morning on profit taking moves.

The Indonesian currency traded Rp9,175-Rp9,185 per Us dollar, down 10 points from Rp9,165-Rp9,175 per US dollar at the market's close a day earlier.

Investors tended to be cautious in selling the local unit because of continued positive factors in external markets, according to Rully Nova, a foreign exchange analyst of PT Bank Himpunan Saudara Tbk.

Nova said the money market was positive towards the rupiah, but investors hesitated to follow it as they saw it was time to release the rupiah for profit.

"We are optimistic that the rupiah's depreciation is just temporary," he said.

The external positive factor came from Wall Street gains following the US government's data on retail stocks decline and sales increase.

The rupiah was expected to reach the level of Rp9,150 per dollar in afternoon trading, he said.

The local currency was also boosted by the influx of foreign investors' funds into the domestic market, following the government's information saying that this year's first quarter economic growth was over five percent.