JAKARTA: Indonesia's central bank kept interest rates unchanged on Thursday, as expected, saying the current level remained consistent with efforts to stabilise the rupiah even after the currency dropped to its weakest in more than four years.
Bank Indonesia (BI) kept the seven-day reverse repurchase rate at 6.25 per cent, as expected by 29 of 32 economists polled by Reuters.
Its two other main policy rates were also held steady.
To support the rupiah exchange rate, Governor Perry Warjiyo said BI will optimise the use of its other instruments to attract inflows, and will continue its intervention in the spot foreign exchange and non-deliverable forward markets, as well as intervention in the bond market when needed.
BI had surprised markets in April by raising the benchmark rate in response to capital outflows hitting the rupiah.
The currency has been under renewed pressure since late May, weakening past 16,400 per dollar due to capital outflows related to the shifting outlook for U.S. monetary policy.
The currency has also been affected by investors' worries the incoming government of President-elect Prabowo Subianto will raise the country's debt-to-GDP ratio to boost economic growth.
Prabowo, who will take office in October, has pledged to boost growth to 8 per cent.
That compares with the central bank's outlook for GDP growth of 4.7 per cent to 5.5 per cent this year and last year's expansion of 5.05 per cent.
Inflation cooled to an annual 2.84 per cent last month, moving closer to the centre of BI's 1.5 per cent to 3.5 per cent target range.