"I predict it will be below one percent or perhaps below 0.5 percent," Finance Minister Chatib Basri said.Jakarta (ANTARA News) - Finance Minister Chatib Basri has predicted inflation in September will fall below one percent or will at least be lower than August`s rate of 1.12 percent.
"I predict it will be below one percent or perhaps below 0.5 percent," he said here on Tuesday.
Chatib made assurances that inflation would start to normalize after a subsidized fuel price hike is implemented in the third week of June 2013, and he expects it to be flat for the rest of the year thereafter.
"Inflation will rise in July-August, but in September, it will drop below 0.5 percent and will remain stable in October. So the average inflation could be below that of January to June," he remarked.
The finance ministry`s acting head of fiscal policy, Bambang Brojonegoro, meanwhile, has pointed out that a deflation in September could not be ruled out.
However, he stressed that these forecasts are only preliminary projections and may change, depending on the situation in the coming weeks.
"We will see whether there will be a deflation or not over the next one or two weeks. However, early indications point to zero as the first figure," he stated.
Inflation was recorded at 1.12 percent in August, higher than the August averages seen over the past two years and higher than the rate in July of 3.29 percent, according to the National Statistics Agency.
Assessing inflation by calendar year, from January to August 2013, inflation had reached 7.94 percent, while annual inflation was recorded at 8.97 percent.
Bank Indonesia has projected annual inflation in 2013 of 9-9.8 percent.
This projection is far above the assumption in the revised 2013 budget, fixed at 7.2 percent.(*)
Editor: Heru Purwanto
Copyright © ANTARA 2013
