The country's top economics minister says he hopes Bank Indonesia will avail of the opportunity provided by the U.S. Federal Reserve's rate cut to reduce its own benchmark interest rate so as to further lower borrowing costs and help prime pump the economy.

"The rate policy is BI's call," Coordinating Minister for the Economy Boediono told reporters after a meeting Thursday with President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, adding that "if there was indeed another (downward) adjustment of the rate, then it would be good for the real sector."

BI governor Burhanuddin Abdullah said after the U.S. Federal Reserve lowered its key rate by a half a percentage point to 4.75 percent Wednesday that Indonesia would "have more room to cut rates, provided that inflation remains under control."

BI's Board of Governors had earlier this month kept its key rate flat at 8.25 percent for a second time as a result of a rising trend in inflation. It will hold its next policy meeting Oct. 8, after the Central Statistics Agency (BPS) releases its monthly inflation figures.

Consumer prices rose 0.75 percent in August, translating into on-year inflation of 6.51 percent, compared to 6.06 percent in July. Higher demand for goods during Ramadhan -- which started earlier this month and ends with the Idul Fitri holidays in mid-October -- is likely to continue stoking inflationary pressures.

The benchmark BI rate is used as a reference for the setting of interest rates by the commercial banks, including their lending rates.

Lending rates in Indonesia currently stand at between 14 and 16 percent, which is expensive for most businesses.

Apart from inflationary concerns, BI has also been cautious in trimming its key rate further as the BI rate is also used as a reference for the yields on bill sales -- these need to be sufficiently attractive to interest investors in rupiah-based assets.

With the Fed rate cut, the margin between the yields on rupiah-based assets and dollar-based assets have widened, providing room for BI to lower its rate accordingly without affecting investor interest too much.

The rupiah has also strengthened against the U.S. dollar after the Fed's rate cut, reducing the inflationary impact from the previously weaker rupiah -- and providing further support for another cut in the BI rate.

Meanwhile, BI's newly elected deputy governor, Budi Mulya, said that the Fed's rate cut could result in a surge in global investor funds seeking high-yielding assets being pumped into Indonesia's financial markets.