SBI rate down to 16.76%

SBI rate down to 16.76%

JAKARTA: The weighted average interest rate on one-month Bank Indonesia SBI promissory notes dropped to 16.76 percent at the Wednesday weekly auction, the central bank announced.

The previous rate was 16.8 percent.

Bank Indonesia also said it accepted Rp 26 trillion (US$2.6 billion) in bids at the auction, or 84.7 percent of total bids.

The central bank has been under pressure to lower its benchmark interest rate to help reduce the state budget burden in servicing government public debt and to help the real sector obtain bank loans at an affordable interest rate.

The SBI rate has been falling since the beginning of this year, but analysts have said that because of the remaining threat of inflation, a further significant rate cut is unlikely. -- JP