Indonesia Inflation Slows To 5.28%, Lowest In 5 Months

Indonesia’s inflation rate eased to the lowest in five months in January after accelerating in the previous month, and remained above the Bank Indonesia’s target, data from the statistics bureau in Jakarta showed on Wednesday. Separate data showed that tourist arrivals to the country continued its triple-digit growth in December.

The consumer price index, or CPI, rose 5.28 percent year-on-year in January after a 5.51 percent increase in December, the statistical bureau said. Economists had expected the annual inflation rate to ease to 5.40 percent.

The latest inflation was the lowest since August, when prices rose 4.69 percent.

However, it was still above the central bank’s inflation target of 2-4 percent.

Transport charges grew the most by 13.91 percent in January compared to last year, but slower than December’s 15.26 percent surge.

Read more: Indonesia Manufacturing Sector Accelerates In January

Prices for food, beverages and tobacco grew 5.82 percent annually in January and those for housing, water, electricity and household fuels gained 3.62 percent.

The core inflation was 3.27 percent yearly in January. Economists had forecast 3.33 percent.

On a month-on-month basis, consumer prices increased 0.34 percent in January versus an expected rise of 0.47 percent.

Compared to the previous month, the core CPI rose 0.33 percent at the beginning of the year.

Separate official data showed that the number of foreign tourist visits to the country jumped 447.08 percent annually in December, totaling 8.95 million visits. Compared to November, the increase was 36.19 percent.

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