Indonesia's annual inflation rate picks up in July, above forecast

[JAKARTA] Indonesia's annual inflation rate accelerated slightly in July, against market expectation for it to ease, but stayed within the central bank's target range, data from the statistics bureau showed on Thursday.

July's inflation rate was 3.32 per cent on-year, the bureau said, compared with the 3.27 per cent expected in a Reuters poll. The rate in June was 3.28 per cent.

BI targets to maintain inflation within a 2.5 per cent to 4.5 per cent target range for 2019.

The chief of statistics bureau, Suhariyanto, described July's rate as "under control", reflecting prices normalising after the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan and the Eid al-Fitr festival.

On a monthly basis, consumer prices rose 0.31 per cent.

Unlike the headline reading, the annual core inflation rate, which strips government-controlled and volatile food prices, cooled to 3.18 per cent in July from 3.25 per cent in June, close to the poll's 3.17 per cent forecast.

REUTERS