BI Is Optimistic That National Economic Performance Will Continue To Improve Gradually

JAKARTA - Governor of Bank Indonesia (BI) Perry Warjiyo revealed that the performance of the domestic economy is expected to improve gradually. According to him, this development is influenced by the return to improvement in community mobility in line with the easing of restriction policies.

Perry noted, in the period August to early September 2021, domestic economic activity gradually improved, after experiencing a slowdown in July 2021.

"This is reflected in the performance of various early indicators, such as retail sales, consumer expectations, PMI (Purchasing Managers Index) manufacturing, as well as payment transactions through SKNBI (Bank Indonesia National Clearing System) and RTGS (Real-Time Gross Settlement) which have increased again. ” he said in a virtual press conference, Tuesday, September 21.

Perry added that from the external side, export performance continued to increase, supported by the strong demand from major trading partners.

Looking ahead, the monetary authority assesses that economic recovery is expected to continue in line with accelerated vaccinations, continued strong export performance, wider opening of priority sectors, and continued policy stimulus.

"Through these developments, economic growth in 2021 is estimated to remain within the projection range of Bank Indonesia at 3.5 percent to 4.3 percent," he said.

On that occasion, Perry also said that if the central bank decided to keep the benchmark interest rate at the level of 3.50 percent.