JAKARTA: Indonesian central bank on Thursday trimmed its benchmark interest rate for the second time this year to spur the economy.
Bank Indonesia Governor Agus Martowardojo disclosed that the lender reduced its basic policy rate by a quarter percentage point to 7.00 percent.
The bank also cut both deposit facility and lending facility rates by 0.5 percent each to 7.5 percent and 5.0 percent, respectively.
“Less pressure from inflation rate and global economic uncertainty helped the decision of this policy,” Martowardojo said in Jakarta.
The central bank estimated the economy to accelerate between 5.2 to 5.6 percent this year compared with 4.8 percent last year, which still is the weakest pace since 2009.
Indonesia witnessed 3.35 percent inflation last year, the lowest in 6 years, according to the national statistic bureau.
In January, the consumer price index rises to 4.14 percent from a year earlier, it has reported.
Rupiah has been relatively stable against the U.S. dollars in recent months following the announcement of U.S. Fed Reserve policy rate hike and the launch of a raft of Indonesian government huge economic stimulus package to lure foreign capital and spur growth.
