Bappenas: Indonesian Inflation Rate Can Be Kept Below 6% in 2014
Minister of National Development Planning (Bappenas) Armida Alisjahbana is optimistic that Indonesia's inflation rate will stay below the six percent mark in 2014. After seeing inflation ease to 7.75 percent (year-on-year) in February (from 8.22 percent in January), Alisjahbana in fact believes that inflation can be kept below 5.5 percent (just within the target range of Bank Indonesia). Limited inflation is important in the context of poverty eradication. The country's poverty rate is targeted to ease to 10.5 by the year-end.
Earlier this week, Statistics Indonesia said to expect deflation in March 2014.
Inflation in Indonesia:
| Month | Monthly Growth 2013 |
Monthly Growth 2014 |
| January | 1.03% | 1.07% |
| February | 0.75% | 0.26% |
| March | 0.63% | |
| April | -0.10% | |
| May | -0.03% | |
| June | 1.03% | |
| July | 3.29% | |
| August | 1.12% | |
| September | -0.35% | |
| October | 0.09% | |
| November | 0.12% | |
| December | 0.55% | |
| Total | 8.38% | 1.33% |
| 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | |
| Inflation (annual percent change) |
9.8 | 4.8 | 5.1 | 5.4 | 4.3 | 8.4 |
Source: Statistics Indonesia