Indonesia central bank cuts key rate to 8 pct

Jakarta (ANTARA News) - Indonesia's central bank unexpectedly cut its main interest rate by 25 basis points on Thursday to 8 percent, delivering its 14th cut since last year following lower-than-expected inflation last month.

The central bank has cut its key BI target rate from a peak of 12.75 percent early last year as the country recovered from an inflation shock late in 2005.

Ten of 15 analysts surveyed by Reuters this week had forecast the central bank would keep the benchmark BI rate on hold at 8.25 percent.

Five had predicted a quarter-point cut.

Indonesia's consumer price index (CPI) in November rose 6.71 percent from a year earlier, slowing from October's 6.88 percent gain.