SBI rate down to 14.93%

SBI rate down to 14.93%

JAKARTA: The weighted average interest rate on one-month SBI promissory notes fell slightly Wednesday from a week ago, the central bank said.

The one-month SBI notes stood at 14.93 percent at a weekly auction Wednesday, down from 14.99 percent at last week's auction, Bank Indonesia said.

Bank Indonesia also said it accepted Rp 19 trillion (US$2.09) in bids at the auction, or 77.42 percent of the total bids received.

The slide marked a resumption of the downtrend in SBI rates. The rate had risen during the last two auctions amid the rupiah's weakness against the dollar.

But the rupiah regained ground in the last two days, which allowed the interest rate to fall again.

Bank Indonesia has been trying to drive domestic interest rates lower to help reduce the costs shouldered by the government to bail out local banks.

Bank Indonesia officials have said that the central bank aims to drive SBI rate to around 14 percent by the end of the year. -- Dow Jones