Indonesia Holds Rates Steady, Signals Iran War Limits Room for Cuts

MACROECONOMICS - JAKARTA. Indonesia's central bank kept its key interest rates unchanged on Tuesday and signalled little room for rate cuts ahead given the impact of the war in the Middle East.

Bank Indonesia held the benchmark 7-day reverse repurchase rate at 4.75%, as had been forecast by 24 of 26 economists polled by Reuters, and also held its overnight deposit and lending facility rates at 3.75% and 5.50%, respectively. "The impact of this Middle East war is indeed why we no longer convey the possibility of an interest rate cut in this statement," BI governor Perry Warjiyo said in an online press conference.