JAKARTA: Indonesia's central bank held its key interest rate steady on Tuesday as Southeast Asia's biggest economy seeks to support the rapidly weakening rupiah, following an unexpected cut in February.
Bank Indonesia's board of governors kept the rate at 7.50 percent, as expected.
Last month the bank surprised markets with a 25-basis-point cut, the first reduction in the rate for three years, as policymakers sought to boost the slowing economy.
But after the move helped to drive the rupiah to a 17-year low, Indonesia's central bank decided to stand pat Tuesday, bucking the trend among other Asian countries that have recently slashed their borrowing costs.
Following the decision, the rupiah strengthened 0.6 percent to 13,165 against the dollar -- the biggest gain in almost eight weeks, according to Bloomberg News.
Bank Indonesia spokesman Tirta Segara told reporters the decision was also in line with the bank's efforts to keep inflation in check and rein in a stubborn current-account deficit.
Inflation has been easing in recent months, and slowed to 6.29 percent year-on-year in February, but remains above the bank's target range.
However, economists indicated that further cuts may be on the horizon to spur economic growth, which sank to a five-year low in 2014.
"Looking ahead, it is unlikely to be long before BI (Bank Indonesia) follows up February's cut by loosening monetary policy again," said Gareth Leather, Asia economist from Capital Economics.
"There are indications that the central bank is becoming more concerned about the outlook for growth."
President Joko Widodo has set a growth target for this year of 5.7 percent.
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