"The slight difference in inflation numbers in 2013 and 2012 indicates that the government has been successful in curbing price and inflation," Head of BPS Suryamin noted.
Jakarta (ANTARA News) - The Indonesian Central Statistics Agency or BPS has recorded that inflation in 2013 reached 8.38 percent or lower from governments estimation which was 8.5 percent.

Head of BPS Suryamin stated, here on Thursday, that the year on year 8.38 percent inflation was achieved following the December 2013s inflation that reached 0.55 percent or likely to be similar to the December 2012s inflation at 0.54 percent.

"The slight difference in inflation numbers in 2013 and 2012 indicates that the government has been successful in curbing price and inflation," Suryamin noted.

However, the 2013 inflation rate is relatively high as compared to the state budget assumption at 7.2 percent and the inflation rate in 2012, at 4.3 percent, and has been caused by the subsidized oil fuel price hike around midyear.

Even earlier, the government had estimated that the year-end inflation of 2013 would reach 9.2 percent (year-on-year) and Bank Indonesia, the central bank of Indonesia, predicted that it will be around 9.0 percent to 9.8 percent (year-on-year) with an assumption that the direct impact of the oil fuel price hike will not last more than three months.

Meanwhile, Minister of Finance Chatib Basri, had predicted that the year-end inflation will be in the range of 8.4 percent (year-on-year) with December 2013s inflation rate reaching 0.5 percent to 0.6 percent.

"I think, based on trends, the inflation rate would have been be lower than that, in the range of 0.5 percent to 0.6 percent, if the prices did not significantly change, or had remained at the same level," Basri explained.(*)

Editor: Heru Purwanto
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