REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA -- The consumer price index is likely to record an inflation of 0.5 percent in January 2019. It was fueled by an increase in the prices of several commodities and jewelry, according to Bank Indonesia (BI).
The forecast is based on the results of a survey conducted on the prices of commodities until the third week of January 2019, BI Governor Perry Warjiyo stated. If the inflation forecast turned out to be true, the yearly inflation in the first month of this year will be three percent year-on-year (yoy), he remarked.
The inflation was fueled by an increase in the prices of onion, purebred chicken, tomato, gold, and jewelry, he pointed out. However, the prices of other food commodities remained stable or low, he said.
According to Bank Indonesia, food supplies remained under control, reducing the risk of a food price hike.
"We saw no increase in the prices of (other) commodities. As usual, the prices of several commodities, including onion, purebred chicken and tomato as well as jewelry, were on the rise," he stated.
The January inflation will be lower than 0.62 percent recorded in December 2018. With the inflation forecast in January 2019, he believed this year's inflation will lie in the middle of the target of 3.5 percent, give or take one percent.