Bank Indonesia to consider January easing, sees Fed raising rates 100 bps in 2016

Indonesia's central bank said it will consider making an easing move at its next meeting in January, as there should be more room for it.

PHOTO: REUTERS

DEC 17, 20158:43 PM

[JAKARTA] Indonesia's central bank said it will consider making an easing move at its next meeting in January, as there should be more room for it. "We can (ease policy) through quantitative move or through interest rate. Both will be our consideration in January," Juda Agung, Bank Indonesia's executive director for monetary and economic policy, told reporters.

He said a quantitative move could involve lowering a reserve requirement ratio.

Agung said Bank Indonesia (BI) sees more room to ease policy after seeing market's muted reaction to the US Federal Reserve's 25 basis points rate hike on Wednesday.

BI thinks the Fed would raise its main rate by 100 basis points next year, he added.

Indonesia's central bank also said it would continue to monitor external risks to the economy, such as China's economic slowdown and any further US interest rates hikes.

BI on Thursday kept its benchmark rate unchanged at 7.50 per cent.

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