Indonesia inflation eases to 6.84%
2011-03-01 18:06:00
Indonesia said on Tuesday that consumer prices rose 6.84 per cent in February from a year earlier, less than expected due to softening food prices.
Month-on-month inflation slowed to 0.13 per cent compared with 0.89 per cent in January, according to the statistics agency.
The year-on-year rise in January was 7.02 per cent, and the market expected a rise of 7.15 per cent in February.
Annualised core inflation, which excludes volatile food prices, accelerated to 4.36 per cent last month compared with 4.18 per cent in January.
Bank Indonesia increased its rate in February due to concerns that rising food prices could stoke inflation.
Extreme weather that disrupted harvests and food distribution pushed last year's annual inflation close to seven per cent.
"The central bank is likely to maintain its key interest rate of 6.75 per cent," said Ciptadana Securities analyst Syaiful Adrian.