In a surprise move, Bank Indonesia (BI) decided on Thursday to cut its benchmark interest rate for the fifth time this year to revive the shrinking economy while reiterating its commitment to maintaining accommodative monetary policy going forward. The central bank trimmed its benchmark seven-day reverse repo rate by 25 basis points (bps) to 3.75 percent, the lowest since the policy rate was introduced in 2016, and also cut the deposit facility and lending facility rates by a quarter of a percent to 3 and 4.5 percent respectively, following its two-day policy meeting. The move was projected by only eight of 22 economists polled by Reuters. “This decision took into account the low inflation expectation [and] maintained external stability and further measures needed to support the national economic recovery,” BI Governor Perry Warjiyo told reporters in a virtual press ...