BI's interest rate falls again

BI's interest rate falls again

JAKARTA: The weighted average interest rate on one-month
Sertifikat Bank Indonesia notes fell slightly to 11.26 percent
from 11.31 percent at a weekly auction, the central bank said on
Wednesday.

The rate cut was in line with market expectations.

Bank Indonesia said it accepted Rp 24 trillion at the auction,
or 75.5 percent of total bids.

The central bank has been cutting rates as inflationary
pressure abates to help reduce the government's bank bailout
costs and stimulate economic growth. -- Dow Jones

British unemployment edges up 1,800

LONDON: Unemployment in Britain inched up by 1,800 during March
to 939,900, official figures showed on Wednesday, continuing a
weak trend which is defying the global economic gloom.

The small increase left the jobless rate steady at 3.1
percent, the National Statistics office said.

The International Labor Organization's broader measure of
unemployment fell by 22,000 in the three months to February from
the previous quarter to 1.49 million.

The ILO figure equates to an unemployment rate of 5.1 percent,
a 0.1 percentage point fall from the three months to January.

The annual growth rate of headline average earnings fell to
3.0 percent year-on-year in the three months to February, from
3.6 percent in the quarter to January, remaining well below the
Bank of England's 4.5-percent comfort level.

Unemployment remains just a little above a 27-year-low
recorded in January, when the figure registered a surprise drop
of 3,500. -- AFP

Malaysian consumer prices up 1.4%

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia's consumer prices rose 1.4 percent in the
first quarter from the same period last year, the Statistics
Department said on Wednesday.

Most prices were higher in the three months to March except
for clothing and footware which fell by 2.3 percent and furniture
which was down by 0.5 percent, it said.

Transport and communication prices rose 3.7 percent, medical
care and health expenses were up 2.2 percent and miscellaneous
goods and services rose 1.8 percent.

The index rose 0.7 percent in March compared to a year earlier
but fell 0.2 percent from February. -- AFP

Australian consumer sentiment soars
SYDNEY, Australia: Australian consumer sentiment has surged after
it became clear the war in Iraq would be over quickly, a survey
showed on Wednesday.

The Westpac-Melbourne Institute index of consumer sentiment
rose a seasonally adjusted 10.9 percent to 108.2 points in April,
up from 97.6 in March.

The rise effectively brings the index back to its January
level, before war dominated the economic agenda.

Westpac global head of economics Bill Evans said the April
rise was the fourth largest since the survey began in 1974 and
was comparable to an 11.1 percent climb after the first Gulf War
in 1991. -- AFP