English
Indonesia’s inflation beats highest forecast in challenge to rate outlook
JAKARTA – Indonesia’s inflation rose slightly in December and remained above the central bank’s target range for the seventh successive month, official data showed on Monday, as household spending rose during the year-end holidays.
The headline annual inflation rate picked up to 5.51 per cent in December, compared with 5.42 per cent in November and the 5.39 per cent expected by analysts polled by Reuters.
Bank Indonesia’s inflation target range is 2 per cent to 4 per cent. In its meeting last month, the central bank had predicted that December inflation would not exceed 5.4 per cent.
Bank Indonesia raised the key policy rate by a total of 200 basis points in the period from August to December to bring inflation to within its target range this year.
December’s prices were propped up by higher prices of fuel, airfares, house rents and foodstuff such as rice and eggs, Statistics Indonesia chief Margo Yuwono told a news conference.
The annual core inflation rate, which excludes government-controlled prices and volatile food prices, inched higher to 3.36 per cent from 3.3 per cent a month earlier, while the Reuters poll had expected a rate of 3.39 per cent. REUTERS