Indonesian interest rates steady

The Indonesian central bank on Wednesday decided to keep its key interest rate unchanged at 8.0 percent for the second straight month amid rising inflation, its deputy governor said. "After taking into account various factors including people's expectations on inflation, it has been decided to keep the rate unchanged," the bank's Budi Mulya told reporters.
He said the decision by the bank's policy board also factored in the slowdown in the US economy, turbulent global financial markets and rising commodity prices. The decision was widely expected by economists particularly following the release of data last week showing Indonesian consumer prices rose 1.77 percent in January from the previous month, the fastest in six years.