Indonesia Consumer Prices May Fall This Month, Official Says
Indonesia’s consumer price index will likely fall about 0.1 percent to 0.2 percent in May from the previous month, Rusman Heriawan, chairman of the central statistics office, said ahead of an inflation report next week.
Food prices remain “stable” even as the cost of rice has begun to increase “slightly,” Heriawan said in Jakarta today. The price index fell from the previous month in March and April. Stocks and the rupiah climbed today.
Inflation pressure in Southeast Asia’s biggest economy has eased, with consumer prices rising 6.16 percent in April from a year earlier compared with 7.02 percent in January. The price index may rise about 5.8 percent to 5.9 percent in May from a year earlier, Bank Indonesia Governor Darmin Nasution told reporters in Jakarta today.
The Jakarta Composite index climbed 0.5 percent, gaining for a second day. The rupiah added 0.1 percent, appreciating for a second day.
Indonesia’s currency will likely strengthen further even as the gains may ease from the previous months, Nasution said.
The economy may expand more than 6.5 percent from a year earlier this quarter because of an increase in foreign direct investment, Heriawan said. Gross domestic product rose 6.5 percent in the three months through March.
To contact the reporter on this story: Novrida Manurung in Jakarta at nmanurung@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Stephanie Phang at sphang@bloomberg.net
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