JAKARTA: Indonesia’s central bank cut its benchmark interest rate on Thursday, resuming last year’s monetary easing to help cushion the impact of the coronavirus outbreak on Southeast Asia’s largest economy.
Bank Indonesia (BI) trimmed the seven-day reverse repurchase rate by 25 basis points (bps) to 4.75%, the first cut in 2020 and a fifth in the current easing cycle that began in May.
The move was expected by 16 of 28 analysts in a Reuters poll, while the rest had predicted BI would stay on hold.
BI also cut its overnight deposit facility and lending facility rates by the same amount, to 4% and 5.5%, respectively.
Last year, BI cut interest rates by 100 bps and relaxed some lending rules to prop up domestic economic growth amid a global slowdown. – Feb 20, 2020, Reuters
