Central banks in Indonesia, the Philippines hold key rates steady

“It looks to be a preservation of bullets for 2021, ” said Wellian Wiranto, (pic) an economist at Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp in Singapore.

JAKARTA: Central banks in Indonesia and the Philippines held their benchmark interest rates steady and pledged to keep policy accommodative as their economies struggle with the worst virus outbreaks in South-East Asia.

Bank Indonesia held its seven-day reverse repurchase rate at 3.75%, as predicted by 24 of 30 economists surveyed by Bloomberg; the others expected a 25-basis point cut.