|

Bank Indonesia seen cutting rates again on Thursday - Reuters poll

The latest Reuters poll of 21 economists showed on Tuesday, a small majority of them see Bank Indonesia (BI), the Indonesian central bank, slashing its benchmark interest rate once again this Thursday.

This could be the third straight rate cut by the central bank, as it strives to ramp up economic growth.

Key Findings:

“13 economists predicted Bank Indonesia (BI) will trim its 7-day reverse repurchase rate by 25 basis points (bps) to 5.25% this week, bringing this year’s total easing to 75 bps.

The other eight economists expected the central bank to stand pat.

Analysts had predicted July’s cut was the beginning of an easing cycle to unwind the central bank’s tightening in 2018.

A key factor to Thursday's decision is the rupiah’s stability, many economists have said, and the currency has lost its footing this week, weakening 1.4% since its previous peak at 13,900 per dollar on Sept. 13.”

Author

Dhwani Mehta

Dhwani Mehta

FXStreet

Residing in Mumbai (India), Dhwani is a Senior Analyst and Manager of the Asian session at FXStreet. She has over 10 years of experience in analyzing and covering the global financial markets, with specialization in Forex and commodities markets.

More from Dhwani Mehta
Share:

Editor's Picks

EUR/USD eases marginally, back to 1.1800

EUR/USD navigates a narrow range on Thursday, hovering around the 1.1800 neighbourhood in a context of humble gains in the US Dollar. The pair’s lacklustre performance come amid the unabated trade uncertainty, geopolitical tensions in the Middle East and the cautious tone from the ECB’s Lagarde.

GBP/USD retreats from tops, approaching 1.3540

GBP/USD partially sets aside Wednesday’s strong advance and recedes to the 1.3540 region on Thursday. Cable’s modest retracement follows the equally acceptable gains in the Greenback, while investors continue to pencil in a potential BoE rate cut in March.

Gold clings to gains just below $5,200, focus on geopolitics

Gold is edging modestly higher on Thursday, adding to Wednesday’s uptick and holding just below the $5,200 mark per troy ounce against the backdrop of modest gains in the US Dollar. In the meantime, attention is turning to the geopolitical scenario following US-Iran nuclear talks.

Stellar: Relief bounce fades as bearish undertone persists

Stellar is trading around $0.16 at the time of writing on Thursday after rebounding more than 8% in the previous day. Derivatives data paints a negative picture as XLM’s short bets hit a monthly high while Open Interest continues to decline.

The one thing everyone is on the lookout for is US action of some sort against Iran

The FX market is minestrone soup these days. It is befuddled by conflicting data, rumors and small stories exaggerated out of proportion, and Trump-generated uncertainty. 

Bitcoin steadies as traders eye US–Iran talks

Bitcoin (BTC) price is stabilizing around $68,000 at the time of writing on Thursday after a 6.2% relief rally the previous day amid a broader downward trend.