JAKARTA, June 8 (Reuters) - Indonesia's economy may grow below 4 percent in the second quarter of the 2009 from a year ago, although domestic consumption should support growth, Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati said on Monday,.
Indonesian policy makers have been trying to boost domestic economic activity to counter weak global demand for its key commodities amid the global crisis, including launching a 73.3 trillion rupiah ($7.29 billion) fiscal stimulus package earlier this year.
'The economic growth may only be nearing 4 percent. But because consumption is still quite strong and government spending has begun, banks and capital market have started to respond,' Indrawati told reporters.
She added that the economy could still grow quite strongly in the second- and third quarter but the growth rate would not be as high as the 4.4 percent expansion in the first quarter.
Indrawati expected private domestic consumption to grow above 5 percent, compared to 5.8 percent growth in the first quarter.
The central bank has cut its key interest rates by a total of 2.5 percentage points since December to 7.0 percent, and has said it may cut further in response to easing inflation and a firm rupiah currency.
No comments:
Post a Comment