With the dry season forecast to arrive early and last longer due to a potential shift to El Niño, the government is readying several agricultural measures, including AWD to maintain optimal rice production.

While some Asian nations have declared energy emergencies amid the US-Israeli war on Iran, Indonesia has stopped short of following suit, stressing that domestic fuel and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) supplies are secure.

Countries are working to close the gap between the US and India to extend a global agreement not to impose tariffs on electronic transmissions such as digital downloads and streaming, diplomats said on Saturday.

The ambassador facilitating talks on reforming the World Trade Organization has voiced cautious optimism on progress at a high-level meeting in the Cameroonian capital, where reforming the beleaguered global trade body is at the heart of a four-day ministerial conference.

Drawing from past experience, employees said the WFH policy is cumbersome and stressful, and merely shifts energy consumption from daily commutes to other activities.

The placement brings the government’s total liquidity injections into state-owned lenders such as Bank Mandiri, BRI and BNI to around Rp 300 trillion.

The suspension was ordered under a decree that declared a state of national energy emergency to deal with the fallout from the war, including disruptions to fuel procurement.

On March 12, Finance Minister Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa said the state budget could reap windfall revenue from rising coal and CPO prices.

The Philippines is also keeping the option of increasing its coal imports from top supplier Indonesia in an effort to reduce electricity rate hikes.

Evidence shows that Indigenous, community-based mitigation systems are effective in saving lives during disasters. Therefore, legal recognition of Indigenous communities and customary forests is an urgent priority, alongside efforts to strengthen local knowledge systems and ensure their sustainability.

Rail transport carried the largest share of passengers at 3.3 million, rising 13.46 percent year-on-year.

Spending during Ramadan this year marked an overall shift in composition as consumers moved away from leisure toward necessities, giving policymakers clues as to how best to realign seasonal measures.

President Prabowo Subianto has declared that Indonesia’s aggressive push for food and energy self-reliance is not rooted in ideology but in "common sense", as it is required to survive a volatile global landscape.

Despite global headwinds, the finance minister expects economic resilience, buoyed by spending over and beyond Idul Fitri, will help achieve 5.5-5.7 percent growth in the first quarter.

Chinese Premier Li Qiang pledged on Sunday to further open up the economy and fully implement national treatment for foreign enterprises, as the country seeks to reassure the outside world amid rising global trade tensions.

The government is holding subsidized fuel prices steady through year-end as global oil price tops US$100 a barrel, with Finance Minister Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa saying the state will absorb the shock rather than pass it on to consumers.

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Thursday that Washington might lift sanctions on Iranian oil that is already being shipped, as energy prices soar due to the war in the Middle East.

Last year, China sent Brazil, Indonesia and Thailand roughly a fifth of their fertilizer imports and that figure stood at a third for Malaysia and New Zealand, according to International Trade Centre data. For India, it was around 16 percent, according to its trade data.

China's show of willingness to work with the region of more than 700 million people would be welcome relief to Southeast Asian oil importers after an order by Beijing earlier this month to ban Chinese exports of diesel, gasoline and jet fuel.

Asia spot LNG prices have doubled to three-year highs in the second major supply shock in four years, as shipping through the Strait of Hormuz has all but stopped and No. 2 global exporter Qatar has halted shipments. 

The cost of the subsidised RON95 transport fuel, available for all Malaysian citizens, will be kept at 1.99 ringgit per litre, with the government expected to spend over 3 billion ringgit ($763.36 million) per month to fund its fuel subsidy bill, the ministry said in a statement late Wednesday. 

Interest rates were kept steady at a range of 3.50 percent to 3.75 percent, with officials flagging one expected cut by the end of the year.

Uncertain economic prospects and delayed or absent holiday allowance disbursements have made some consumers more cautious, prompting them to spend less and save more.

International Finance Corporation (IFC), the World Bank Group’s private sector arm, has urged Indonesia to prioritize the growth of more productive, higher-value businesses through regulatory reforms.  

The President's brother, who heads the public housing task force, says he has temporarily allayed Prabowo's concerns by pointing to the relatively recent existence of the housing ministry as a stand-alone institution.

Australia's central bank raised its cash rate for a second straight month on Tuesday, saying higher borrowing costs were needed to contain inflation, though a very tight vote suggested further tightening is far from certain.

The government has emphasized that lifting the fiscal deficit cap, which sits at 3 percent of GDP, could only happen in a crisis, and that it is focusing instead on slashing government spending.