By Yi Wei Wong
Indonesia's central bank kept its benchmark rate unchanged on Thursday amid signs that the economy is recovering.
Bank Indonesia kept its seven-day reverse repo rate at a record low 3.75%, as expected by eight out of 10 economists polled by The Wall Street Journal.
The central bank also held its overnight deposit facility rate at 3.00% and maintained its overnight lending facility rate at 4.50%.
Bank Indonesia Gov. Perry Warjiyo said the country's economy seems to be on the mend, with various indicators like imports and exports, manufacturing PMI, and consumer demand improving in December. The central bank is continuing to focus on a combination of fiscal and monetary stimulus to continue supporting economic growth, he said.
Southeast Asia's largest economy contracted 3.49% in the third quarter of 2020 from a year earlier amid restrictions to combat the spread of Covid-19. The nation has been hit hard by the virus, reporting 939,948 cases and 26,857 deaths so far, according to health ministry data.
The central bank governor expects that gross domestic product contracted 1.0% to 2.0% in 2020, and will return to growth in 2021 with an expansion of 4.8% to 5.8%. The economy grew 5.0% in 2019.
Write to Yi Wei Wong at yiwei.wong@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
01-21-21 0254ET
