JAKARTA: Indonesia's central bank kept its benchmark interest rate unchanged on Thursday, as expected, taking a pause in a monetary tightening cycle aimed at supporting the fragile rupiah.
Bank Indonesia (BI) held the 7-day reverse repurchase rate at 5.25%, as expected by 17 of 19 economists in a Reuters poll.
Its two other policy rates, the ones the central bank pays for overnight deposits and charges for overnight lending to commercial banks, were kept at 4.50% and 6.00%, respectively.
BI had raised the key rate at each of the last three policy meetings, including an off-cycle one on May 30, to shore up the rupiah.
The rupiah had been relatively steady since the last hike at the end of June, though it was still trading near its weakest level in nearly three years and down nearly 6% in 2018.
After BI's announcement, the rupiah remained steady.