ank Indonesia (BI) has kept its benchmark interest rate at 3.5 percent for a seventh consecutive month as it aims to support the economic recovery from the COVID-19 crisis.
The central bank also retained last month's benchmark deposit facility rate of 2.75 percent and lending facility rate of 4.25 percent.
“Bank Indonesia also continues to optimize its policy mix to maintain macroeconomic and financial system stability and support further economic improvement,” BI Governor Perry Warjiyo said during a press conference on Tuesday.
He went on to say that the central bank was sticking to its GDP growth forecast of 3.5 to 4.3 percent and remained committed to keeping inflation in the target range of 2 to 4 percent this year.
Read also: BI holds policy rate at 3.5%, sets up MSME financing boost
Indonesia achieved a trade surplus of US$4.7 billion in August, the highest ever recorded by Statistics Indonesia, largely thanks to high prices and large export volumes of key Indonesian commodities like crude palm oil (CPO) and coal.
Perry added that the country’s current account deficit was predicted to fall between 0.6 percent and 1.4 percent of GDP this year, far better than the approximately 3 percent in 2018.
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