ANN/THE STAR – Indonesia’s annual inflation rate was 2.12 per cent in August, essentially unchanged from 2.13 per cent in July, official data showed yesterday, holding comfortably within the central bank’s target range and matching market expectations.
The August headline inflation rate was the lowest since February 2022, and matched the forecast in a poll. Bank Indonesia (BI) has a target range of 1.5 per cent to 3.5 per cent for inflation.
The annual core inflation rate edged up to 2.02 per cent last month from 1.95 per cent in July, the data showed, slightly above the 1.98 per cent forecast in the poll.
Inflation in Southeast Asia’s biggest economy has held within the central bank’s target range since the middle of last year, but BI has kept interest rates relatively high to focus on anchoring the rupiah currency and weathering global market volatility.
Governor Perry Warjiyo has said currency stability was the policy focus for this quarter, but he saw a room for a monetary policy easing to boost economic growth in the next quarter.
