Indonesian economy still sluggish despite interest rate cuts

Jakarta

INDONESIA'S economy grew slightly more slowly than expected in the third quarter, as private consumption continued to flatline, confounding efforts by policymakers to push the growth rate much above 5 per cent.

South-east Asia's largest economy expanded 5.06 per cent in the July-toSeptember quarter from the year earlier, the statistics bureau said on Monday, compared with 5.01 percent in both the first and second quarters. A Reuters poll had forecast 5.13 per cent for the third quarter.

Indonesia's growth has stagnated at around 5 per cent since the fourth quarter of 2014, as private consumption, which accounts for about half of gross domestic product, has remained sluggi…