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Jakarta (ANTARA News) - The rupiah in the Jakarta interbank spot market fell 10 points to Rp9,285/9,295 per dollar on Thursday evening from Rp9,285/9,300 per dollar on Wednesday.

Investors were less interested in buying up the dollar as street rallies against a government plan to raise fuel prices showed signs of abating, leading to a slight fall in the rupiah`s exchange rate against the greenback, Kostaman Thayib, retail banking director of PT Bank Mega Tbk, said on Thursday.

He pointed out the strengthening of the regional stock exchange`s index coupled with Bank Indonesia (the central bank)`s plan to intervene in the market if the rupiah fell to Rp9,300 per dollar had eased negative pressure on the Indonesian currency.

"We predict the rupiah will still be under pressure to hover above Rp9,300 per dollar on the ensuing day due to pressure from the global crude oil prices," he said.

The global crude oil prices currently stood at US$126 a barrel compared to US$127 a barrel previously, he said.

But he added the global crude prices might go up again and even hit an unprecedented level of US$200 a barrel because of high demand from the United States and China, the world`s largest oil consumers.

As a crude oil exporter, Indonesia was supposed to enjoy windfall profit from the soaring global crude prices but the country was battling it out to plug a deficit in the state budget, he said.

Even the government was seeking foreign loans and planning to raise fuel oil prices by up to 30 percent to offset the budget deficit, he said.

The plan to raise fuel prices, if realized, would slow down economic growth because all sectors would be affected, he said.

Source