KONTAN.CO.ID - JAKARTA. Indonesia's central bank held its key interest rate at a record low on Thursday to support the economy amid a growing COVID-19 crisis, but said recent anti-virus measures had hit activity less than expected.

Bank Indonesia (BI) kept the benchmark 7-day reverse repurchase rate at 3.50%, where it has been since February, as expected by all 31 economists in a Reuters poll. The central bank also left its two other main policy rates unchanged.

Indonesia has one of the world's worst coronavirus outbreaks due to a rapid spread of the Delta variant, reporting around 1,000 deaths from the respiratory disease each day in the past week.

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The government extended pandemic-linked restrictions to July 25 as the number of infections remained high, but is hoping for a gradual easing of curbs next week if cases drop, President Joko Widodo said on Tuesday.

BI Governor Perry Warjiyo said the policy decision was consistent with the need to support the economy while keeping the local currency stable. The rupiah has lost more than 2% against the U.S. dollar since the Federal Reserve in June flagged an earlier-than-expected exit from its pandemic-era stimulus.

"For 2021, all of BI's policies are pro-growth, except for those aimed at maintaining the currency stability in anticipation of global market uncertainty," Warjiyo said in an online news conference.

Due to the virus curbs, BI has cut its 2021 economic growth forecast range to between 3.5% and 4.3%, from 4.1% to 5.1% previously.

But the midpoint of the forecast range was 3.9%, slightly higher than the 3.8% BI forecast a week ago, because the curbs are expected to be eased next week, Warjiyo said. BI had previously assumed the curbs would last for a month.

Editor: Yudho Winarto