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Indonesia’s annual inflation rate slowed in May as the increase in food prices remained modest despite rising demand during the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan, data from the Central Statistics Agency showed on Monday (04/06).
The headline consumer price index (CPI) in May rose 3.23 percent from a year ago, slightly below the median forecast in a Reuters poll, which had expected a rate of 3.28 percent. April’s annual rate was 3.41 percent.
On a monthly basis, consumer price rose 0.21 percent.
The annual and monthly rates were unusually low for inflation during Ramadan, which was a “delightful news” for authorities seeking to keep inflation under control, said Suhariyanto, the head of the statistics agency.
However, the annual core inflation rate, which excludes government-controlled and volatile food prices and was more affected by the rupiah currency’s weakness, rose to 2.75 percent in May, from April’s 2.69 percent. The poll had expected a rate of 2.73 percent.
Bank Indonesia targets inflation at 2.5-4.5 percent this year.
