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Indonesian Inflation Accelerates to 3.08% in May, Topping Forecasts

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Indonesian Inflation Accelerates to 3.08% in May, Topping Forecasts

Indonesian inflation rose to 3.08% in May following a surge in food, beverage, tobacco, and personal care prices during the month, according to data from Statistics Indonesia published Tuesday.

Analysts polled by Reuters estimated a rise of 2.97%. The latest print rebounded from an eight-month low of 2.42% recorded in April.

Prices of food, beverages, and tobacco jumped 4.94% during the month, the statistics department, known officially as Badan Pusat Statistik, said.

The commodities that helped raise food prices include fresh fish at 0.22%, rice at 0.18%, broiler chicken meat at 0.15%, as well as machine-rolled and hand-rolled clove cigarettes and white cigarettes.

Prices of mineral water, oranges, and cucumbers, among others, helped contribute to the upward movement.

Food and beverage services and restaurant prices jumped 2.24% year over year during the month. Rice meals with a side dish saw higher prices.

Personal care services jumped 10.35% year over year during the month, driven by a 26.31% rise in other personal effects prices. according to the statistics department.

Transport prices grew 2.3%, with airfares contributing a 0.14% rise, the department said.

Information, communication, and financial services saw prices rise 0.97%, while health prices jumped 1.7%.

On a monthly basis, consumer inflation was up 0.28%, compared with 0.13% a month earlier.

The country's annual core component inflation rate was 2.59%, compared with the prior reading of 2.44%. Month over month, core consumer prices rose 0.22%, against the previous 0.23% increase.

Indonesia's inflation data comes as economists doubt the robust growth narrative being pushed by President Prabowo Subianto, Bloomberg reported on May 29.

Economists questioned what they called an unexpected jump in the archipelago's gross domestic product by 5.6%, calling the statistic an overstatement, the news outlet said.

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