Among the macro economic targets agreed upon include economic growth of 5 percent - 6 percent, inflation range from 5.3 percent to 7.3 percent, and rupiah exchange rate of 11,000 to 11,700 per US dollar.
Jakarta (ANTARA Newsntara) - Commission XI of the House of Representatives and the government agree on revisions of a number of macro economic targets set in the 2014 state budget.

The new targets would be used as materials for discussion on revised budget ceiling at the House Budget Department .

"We give a range of assumptions to be synchronized with spending in the discussion at the budget department," Commission XI chairman Olly Dondokambey said at a meeting with the government and Bank Indonesia here on Wednesday.

Among the macro economic targets agreed upon include economic growth of 5 percent - 6 percent, inflation range from 5.3 percent to 7.3 percent, and rupiah exchange rate of 11,000 to 11,700 per US dollar.

Deputy chairman of Commission XI Harry Azhar Azis said the ranges of targets gave room for the government in drafting budget ceilings for 2014.

In addition, the agreement on macro economic targets especially on inflation would authorize3 the government to raise subsidized oil fuel prices if needed to reduce the subsidy burden, Harry said.

He said the inflation range is wide as normally an increase in the prices of subsidized oil fuels would trigger price hike .

Finance Minister Chatib Basri expressed pleasure with the agreement on the targets .

Chatib, however, refused to comment on the possibility of the government raising the prices of subsidized oil fuels in the near future.

"This government will be only until October and there will be new government afterward."

"We dont know what would happened after the election.But the Commission XI has opened a better range. Any potion is open," he said.

He said the wide budget deficit target is to control consumption of subsidized oil fuel , cut government spending in a number of state agencies and to raise electric tariff as already approved by the house of representatives. .

In the original budget the economic growth target was set at 6 percent with inflation at 5.5 percent and rupiah exchange rate at 10,000 per US dollar .

The targets were no longer feasible with the current economic condition that the government proposed revision.(*)

Editor: Heru Purwanto
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