Indonesia: Inflation remains stable in April
Inflation came in at 3.0% in April, unchanged from March’s reading and slightly below market expectations. The reading was largely due to a more moderate rise in prices for food and transportation which broadly offset stronger price pressure for housing and utilities.
The trend pointed down slightly, with annual average inflation coming in at 3.0% in April (March: 3.1%). Meanwhile, core inflation was stable, coming in at March’s 1.8% in April.
Finally, consumer prices rose 0.25% in April over the previous month, below the 0.52% increase recorded in March. April’s result marked the weakest reading since January.
ING analyst Nicholas Mapa commented on the outlook for monetary policy in light of April’s inflation print:
“We believe the bar for additional policy tightening remains high. However, potential bouts of extreme depreciation pressure on the IDR could prod the central bank to tighten policy before the end of the year. Today’s inflation report should keep BI on its toes with BI likely retaining its hawkish leaning for now.”