JAKARTA (Reuters) – Indonesia’s central bank kept its main policy rate at a record low on Tuesday as policymakers balanced the need to support the coronavirus-hit economy with concerns that further monetary easing could weigh on an already falling currency.
Bank Indonesia (BI) left the benchmark 7-day reverse repurchase rate at 3.50%, where it has been since February. The move was forecast by all 27 analysts in a Reuters poll as the central bank has flagged the need to maintain rupiah stability.
BI also kept the overnight deposit facility and lending facility rates unchanged at 2.75% and 4.25%, respectively.
BI has cut interest rates by a total of 150 basis points, pumped more than $50 billion liquidity into the financial system and relaxed lending rules since 2020 to help Southeast Asia’s largest economy recover from the COVID-19 pandemic.
(Reporting by Gayatri Suroyo and Fransiska Nangoy; Editing by Ed Davies and Andrew Heavens)
