Indonesia's inflation ticks down in March on slow economy

Source: Xinhua | 2020-04-02

Indonesia's inflation nudged slightly lower in March as efforts to contain the COVID-19 virus outbreak slowed down economic activities.

Indonesia's Central Agency of Statistics announced on Wednesday that the inflation logged 2.96 percent in March on the year-on-year basis compared to 2.98 percent in February.

The core inflation, excluding administered prices and volatile prices, accelerated at a faster pace to 2.87 percent in March on the yearly basis, from 2.76 percent in February, the agency's head Kecuk Suhariyanto said.

On the monthly basis, the inflation accelerated 0.1 percent in March compared with 0.28 percent in February, he added.

The hike in self-care products and other services contributed the most to the inflation in March, said Suhariyanto.

The benign annual inflation gave opportunities to the Indonesian central bank, Bank Indonesia, to persistently launch its stimulus on the sluggish economy.

Last month, Bank Indonesia cut its key rate for the second time this year as it joins the global efforts to counter the worsening impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on the economy.

The lender reduced its seven-reverse repurchase rate by 25 basis points to 4.5 percent.

Bank Indonesia targets the inflation to accelerate from 2 to 4 percent this year.