RUPIAH STRENGTHENS TO NEARLY RP9,000 PER DOLLAR

Jakarta, April 12 (ANTARA) - The rupiah strengthened to nearly Rp9,000 per US dollar, as investors continued to buy up the local currency in the Jakarta interbank spot market here, Monday.

The Indonesian currency traded Rp9,002-Rp9,012 per US dollar, up 12 points from Rp9,020-Rp9,030 per US dollar.

The market was still positive towards the rupiah and bolstered the local unit to approach the level of Rp9,000 per US dollar, Edwin Sinaga, a domestic money market observer, said.

"We expect the rupiah to reach the level of Rp9,000 per US dollar, as positive boost is still existing," he said.

The rupiah was expected to be stable at the range of between Rp9,000 and Rp9,050 per US dollar, he said.