Indonesia’s rupiah traded near the strongest level in almost four years after overseas investors boosted holdings of local equities to take advantage of the nation’s growth outlook. Benchmark bonds were little changed. Global funds bought $25.9 million more Indonesian stocks than they sold yesterday, exchange data show. Gross domestic product may increase 6.6 percent in the three months through March, compared with an earlier forecast of 6.4 percent, Bank Indonesia Deputy Governor Hartadi Sarwono said on March 16. The country’s sovereign credit rating may reach investment grade in the third quarter, Coordinating Minister for the Economy Hatta Rajasa said March 17. “Positive factors from faster economic growth to expectations that Indonesia may reach investment grade this year are helping the rupiah,” said Wiling Bolung, head of treasury at ANZ Panin Bank in Jakarta. “Inflation is no longer an issue because investors are confident thatBank Indonesia will take the right steps to manage inflation by allowing the rupiah to strengthen.” The rupiah was little changed at 8,719 per dollar as of 4:29 p.m. in Jakarta, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. It touched 8,703 yesterday, the strongest level since May 2007. The rupiah has rallied 2.9 percent this year, the best performance among Asia’s 10 most-traded currencies. The strengthening of Indonesia’s rupiah supports the country’s economic growth and won’t hurt exports or imports, Bambang Brodjonegoro, the Finance Ministry’s head of fiscal policy, said today in Jakarta. Consumer prices rose 6.84 percent in February from a year earlier, the least in three months, official figures show. Prices rose 7.02 percent in January, the most since April 2009. Inflation data for this month will be released on April 1. Fitch Ratings raised its assessment on Indonesia to “positive” from “stable” on Feb. 24 while keeping the rating at BB+, one step below investment grade, citing favorable economic prospects. Ten-year government bonds were little changed. The yield on the 8.25 percent note was little changed at 8.13 percent, according to closing prices from the Inter-Dealer Market Association. News Source : Bloomberg Photo Source : top-today.blogspot.com
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