Indonesia's c. bank estimates inflation at 0.51 pct in May

Source: Xinhua | 2019-05-24

Indonesia's inflation in May is estimated to hover at 0.51 percent, thanks to the decreasing prices of staple commodities in the country that significantly neutralize the soaring prices in other elements throughout the month, Indonesian central bank (BI) Governor Perry Warjiyo said here on Thursday.
He said the expected inflation level in May, that happens to be the month of Ramadan, may break the nation's inflation history in the fasting month which always booked higher rate due to soaring prices of food commodities.
"The estimated inflation in May is far lower than those during Ramadan in the last three years that hovered at an average of 0.68 percent. It will be the lowest Ramadan inflation ever," Warjiyo said to convey results of BI survey on prices for the month.
With the expected month-to-month inflation at 0.51 percent, the year-on-year inflation in May is estimated to reach 3.14 percent, he added.
The decreasing prices of staple food components, like rice and shallots, managed to neutralize the skyrocketing prices of flight tickets, red chili and garlic throughout the month.
"BI, central and regional governments through the inflation controller teams operating from our offices in regions would continue the efforts to assure those prices remained controllable during Ramadan," he said.
The lower inflation in Ramadan would eventually pull down inflation throughout this year, he added.
The governor estimated that inflation may lead to 3.2 percent by the end of the year, lower than the 3.5 percent set in the state budget target.