Indonesia May Extend Interest-Rate Pause - Bloomberg

Indonesia’s central bank will probably keep interest rates unchanged for a third consecutive meeting to support the economy, allowing gains in the rupiah to reduce inflationary pressures.

Bank Indonesia will keep its benchmark reference rate at 6.75 percent, according to all 10 economists surveyed by Bloomberg News. The central bank is due to release its decision in Jakarta tomorrow.

Indonesia has refrained from boosting borrowing costs since increasing the key rate in February for the first time in more than two years, in contrast with neighbors from Malaysia to India where officials have accelerated monetary tightening. President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono’s policy makers have extended fuel subsidies and let the rupiah climb the most in Asia after Taiwan this year to contain imported inflation.

“There’s no strong reason for Bank Indonesia to raise rates this month and by holding, it will provide an opportunity for banks to give credit and that will boost economic growth for the rest of this year,’ said Eric Alexander Sugandi, a Jakarta- based economist at Standard Chartered Plc. “We’ve adjusted the timing of the next rate increase to August.”

The Indonesian rupiah climbed to its strongest level since 2004 this month and has gained about 5 percent this year, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The central bank is allowing the rupiah to appreciate, Bambang Brodjonegoro, head of fiscal policy at the nation’s finance ministry, said last week.
Neighbors Move

Consumer prices in Indonesia, Southeast Asia’s largest economy, rose 6.16 percent last month from a year earlier, slower than the 6.65 percent pace in March. Prices fell in April compared with March. Core inflation accelerated to 4.62 percent from 4.45 percent. More ...