Bank Indonesia holds rate steady to guard vulnerable currency

JAKARTA, Aug 21 (Bloomberg): Indonesia’s central bank left its benchmark interest rate at a record low to protect the currency, and said it had formulated a plan to deal with eventual US policy tightening.

Bank Indonesia kept the seven-day reverse repurchase rate at 3.5% on Thursday, as expected by all 28 analysts in a Bloomberg survey. Interest rates have been on hold since February’s 25-basis point reduction, and are widely expected to stay at this level throughout 2021.