In the first three monthly policy meetings this year (January-March) the central bank of Indonesia (Bank Indonesia) cut borrowing costs by a total of 75 basis points. Indonesia's benchmark interest rate (BI rate) was cut from 7.50 percent at the year-start to 6.75 percent at Thursday's Board of Governors' meeting. The overnight deposit facility rate and lending facility rate were also cut by 75 basis points, each, in the first three months. The lower interest rate environment in Indonesia signals that the financial fundamentals are strong. This is partly reason behind strong inflows of foreign capital into Southeast Asia's largest economy.

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The National Assembly of France agreed to impose an additional tax on imports of crude palm oil (CPO) and its derivatives used for the production of food products. An additional tax of 90 euro per ton (on top of the existing 104 euro per ton import tariff) is expected to be implemented in 2017. This tax increase is part of France's wider biodiversity bill that aims to reduce deforestation and protects French citizens from the negative health effects from consuming palm oil. Indonesia and Malaysia, the world's largest CPO producers have objected strongly to this higher tax.

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Neighbors Indonesia and Australia will resume talks about the Indonesia-Australia Economic Partnership Agreement (IA-CEPA), a bilateral free trade agreement. The decision to resume negotiations in May 2016 was taken after Indonesian Trade Minister Thomas Lembong met Australian Trade and Investment Minister Steven Ciobo in Canberra on Wednesday (16/03). Previously, talks about the IA-CEPA were put on hold amid a period of severe diplomatic tensions between both nations involving the "2013 spy-scandal", the execution of two Australian citizens in, cattle trade, and the tough asylum-seeker policies of Australia.

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Stock markets in Asia as well as Asian emerging market currencies should perform well today after the US Federal Reserve left rates unchanged at its March policy meeting. Moreover, the central bank of the world's largest economy stated that it expects fewer rate hikes in the coming months (dovish outlook) as economic recovery of the USA is still fragile amid slower global growth and turmoil in world markets linked to low oil price. As a result risk sentiment improved sharply, while the US dollar suffered losses.

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