In Reply to: Rupiah stable ? what about in July ? posted by Jasmine on Tuesday, 6. April 1999 at 08:35 Bali Time:
It's difficult to project currency rates into the future; if you could do this with some accuracy then you're a millionaire-in-waiting. You may want to check out some financial sites (i.e. cnnfn.com) on the Web. Many currencies are sold "forward" and a rate assigned to that transaction - so you agree right now to buy 1 million rupiah in 3 months at, say, 9,000 rupiahs to the dollar. While you would never actually enter this transaction, this Forward Rate should tell you how the currency markets feel about the direction of the rupiah exchange rate.
On the positive side, Indonesia has made progress in restructuring its international loans, which makes investors more confident about the rupiah. On the negative side (or really on the positive side, if you want the rupiah to depreciate, which as a foreign tourist you would), there are major risks on the political front, which could in turn throw the economy into turmoil, weakening the rupiah.
Long-winded, but I hope this helps. BW