JAKARTA. The rupiah exchange rate traded among banks in Jakarta on Thursday morning weakened by 12 points to Rp 12,154 per US dollar from Rp 12,142.

Samuel Sekuritas economist Rangga Cipta said in Jakarta on Thursday that the rupiah, which had rallied after the government lowered fuel-price subsidies, had subsequently started to weaken, influenced by the strengthening of the US dollar in Asia.

“The fuel-price hike’s euphoria remains. The rupiah was carried by the global flow. However, the weakening of the rupiah against the US dollar was slight compared to other currencies in Asia,” he said, as quoted by Antara news agency.

Rangga said improved US construction data had managed to push the US dollar up in Asia.

Moreover, positive expectations over the US manufacturers' purchasing managers index, which was expected to increase, had added positive sentiments to the US dollar.

On the other hand, he added, less positive expectations on Chinese manufacturing data had potentially led to the rupiah weakening against the US dollar.

Monex Investindo Futures head of research Ariston Tjendra said US economic data had tended to be in line with expectations that showed the Fed's rate hike potential in 2015.

“In the next several months, the market will pay close attention to decisions on when the Fed will begin to increase its benchmark interest rate,” said Ariston.

He said several analysts had predicted that the first Fed rate increase would be conducted in stages in the middle of the second half of 2015. (ebf)

Editor: Barratut Taqiyyah Rafie