Jakarta (ANTARA) - Chief Economist at state-run Bank Syariah Indonesia (BSI) Banjaran Surya Indrastomo said the level of people's consumption in 2024 is expected to remain high owing to the activities of next year's parliamentary and presidential elections.

"The general election activities will keep the wheels of the economy running because they are spurring domestic spending," he said in a statement received in Jakarta on Sunday.

The domestic consumption in the third quarter of 2023 was still maintained as supplies from manufacturers remained consistent in the expansive zone with a Prompt Manufacturing Index (PMI) above 50 percent, he argued.

He stated that business activities are predicted to grow positively in 2024 thanks to strong household consumption.

Therefore, Indonesia is expected to continue to enjoy positive economic growth despite global uncertainty due to geopolitical conflicts and economic slowdown, he said.

"We predict that our economy in 2024 will still grow at around 5-6 percent because the people's purchasing power remains strong," the economist remarked.

He further said that the global economic condition in 2024 will still slow down as tight monetary policies from central banks in developed countries, including the United States of America, will continue. The benchmark interest rates, for instance, will still be kept high since 2023.

Then, the condition of global inflation will be increasingly under control, but there are still risks of an increase in the prices of commodities due to the geopolitical tensions between Russia and Ukraine or Israel and Palestine.

He added that there are also risks, caused by climate change and the El Nino phenomenon. These can potentially hamper food production until the first half of 2024.

Related news: Do not let political affairs disrupt economic stability: Jokowi
Related news: Global economic growth to reach 2.8 percent in 2024: BI

Translator: Aloysius Lewokeda, Raka Adji
Editor: Rahmad Nasution
Copyright © ANTARA 2023