Indonesia central bank says inflation in January near zero month-on-month

[JAKARTA] Indonesia's central bank estimates month-on-month inflation in January eased to near zero from 2.46 per cent in December, after the government cut gasoline prices twice during the month, the governor said on Wednesday.

"When inflation is low in the beginning of the year, we hope we could strengthen coordination to manage inflation," Bank Indonesia Governor Agus Martowardojo told reporters after a meeting with President Joko Widodo on inflation management.

He also said figures for annual inflation will remain high until November due to the comparative base effect from the November 2014 fuel price hike.

Bank Indonesia targets inflation at 3-5 per cent in 2015. Indonesia's annual inflation in December was 8.36 per cent.

Annual inflation in January will be 7.5 per cent, Martowardojo said last week.

REUTERS