JAKARTA, Aug 18 — Loans extended by Indonesian banks grew 7.7 per cent in June from a year earlier, the slowest pace for any month since October, the financial services authority said today.

In May, annual loan growth was 8.7 per cent.

Bank Indonesia (BI) will hold a policy meeting on Tuesday.

A Reuters poll showed BI is expected to keep its benchmark interest rate unchanged at 4.75 per cent, where it has been since October, despite sluggish private consumption.

In 2016, the central bank cut the benchmark rate six times, by a total of 1.5 percentage points, in a bid to spur faster loan growth. — Reuters