REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA -- Weak export performance hampered Indonesia's first-quarter economic growth rate, which reached 5.21 percent year-on-year, Finance Minister Chatib Basri said.

"The source of decline was exports, instead of investments. With the US economy recovering, our exports will hopefully start to rebound," he said here on Monday.

The economic slowdown was part of the government's efforts to improve the current account balance. Yet, the government would always work to keep year-end economic growth at above 5.5 percent, he said.

"Hopefully, the growth could be kept at above 5.5 percent, because we don't want it to be too low," he said.

With the economy expanding by 5.21 percent in the first quarter, the government was considering revising the assumed economic growth of 6.0 percent in the state budget, he said.

Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Hatta Rajasa said although the export sector had contracted, following a ban on unprocessed mineral exports, household consumption and investment were expected to support the economic growth.

"Investment is growing, despite elections. This suggests that investors are still receiving high interest rates. Government and private consumption remain good, and so does the purchasing power of the people," he said.

The Central Statistics Agency (BPS) said, previously, that first-quarter growth was fueled by household consumption (5.61 percent), formation of gross fixed capital (5.13 percent) and government consumption (3.58 percent).

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