Bank Indonesia Pledges Liquidity Support, Sees 2020 Growth Below Forecast

(RTTNews) - Indonesia's central bank governor Perry Warjiyo on Wednesday promised more liquidity support for the economy, which is expected grow less than forecast this year. During an online press conference, the Bank Indonesia governor said the full year growth is likely to come in below the bank's forecast of 2.3 percent due to the impact from the coronavirus, or Covid-19. Official data released on Tuesday showed that the Indonesian economy grew 2.97 percent in the first quarter, which was weaker than the 4.4 percent the bank had projected. The central bank expects the economy to grow 0.4 percent in the second quarter, 1.2 percent in the third and 3.1 percent in the final three months of this year, the BI governor said. Data released by the central bank of Wednesday showed that the consumer confidence index dropped to 84.8 in April from 113.8 in March. The latest reading was reportedly the lowest in 12 years.

Households' perception of current economic conditions, current income and job availability deteriorated, but they remained relatively upbeat regarding the economic situation in the next six months on hopes of higher incomes and business recovery once the coronavirus pandemic impact eases.