Indonesia keeps rates on hold, maintains 2015 inflation target

Jakarta

INDONESIA'S central bank kept policy rates on hold at its last policy meeting of the year on Thursday, as expected, saying levels were consistent with efforts to contain inflation after a fuel price hike.

Bank Indonesia (BI) held its benchmark rate steady at 7.75 per cent, a negative real interest rate when compared to the annual inflation estimate for December of around 7.7-8.1 per cent. The central bank quickly raised its key rate by 25 basis points on Nov 19 to contain inflation expectations after the government announced a more than 30 per…