JAKARTA - Indonesia raised 22 trillion rupiah ($1.49 billion) in a bi-weekly bond auction on Tuesday, above its indicative target, the finance ministry said in a statement, although total bids fell to their lowest in more than four months.

The weighted average yields of the bonds were higher than the comparable bonds at an auction on Aug. 25. 

Bids for the bonds in Tuesday's auction were 52.26 trillion rupiah, the lowest demand since April 28. The total incoming bid in the previous auction on Aug. 25 was 78.35 trillion rupiah, in which the government also raised 22 trillion rupiah.

The lower incoming bid was "understandable" as the central bank has recently expanded its open market operation to absorb excess liquidity from the banking system, Deni Ridwan, director of sovereign bonds at the Finance Ministry told Reuters.

Meanwhile, market prices for Indonesian sovereign bonds this week have been lower and the rupiah weaker compared to during the previous auction, which may have also reduced demand, Handy Yunianto, a bond analyst with Mandiri Sekuritas, said.

The rupiah has dropped 0.9% since the last auction. The currency was hit last week by concerns over Bank Indonesia's independence after a proposal to give the government more authority in monetary policy decisions.

($1 = 14,760 rupiah)

(Reporting by Tabita Diela Additional reporting by Fransiska Nangoy; Editing by Andrew Heavens and Alexander Smith) ((tabita.diela@thomsonreuters.com; +628111135032;))