Indonesia central bank holds benchmark rate at 7.50%

[JAKARTA] Indonesia's central bank, which last month surprisingly cut its benchmark rate, on Tuesday held it steady at 7.50 per cent, as expected.

Bank Indonesia said the level of the rate is consistent with efforts to contain inflation and the current account deficit.

At the meeting, it also maintained its overnight deposit facility rate and lending facility rate, at 5.50 per cent and 8.00 per cent respectively.

In February, Bank Indonesia cut its key rate by 25 basis points and revised the inflation outlook for 2015 to below 4 per cent.

Most analysts in a Reuters poll predicted Bank Indonesia would hold the rate on Tuesday, but would probably cut sometime later in the year.

In February, annual inflation eased to 6.29 per cent from a peak in December of 8.36 per cent.

But the currency of Southeast Asia's largest economy has been weakening steadily since BI's last policy meeting.

The rupiah recently has been at its weakest since August 1998. It traded at 13,181 per dollar on Tuesday, unchanged after the announcement.

REUTERS