Indonesian annual inflation eases in June

JAKARTA, July 1 (Xinhua): Indonesian consumer price index accelerated at slower pace in June on yearly basis, allowing the central bank to keep its benchmark interest rate unchanged at its meeting earlier this month.
The national statistic bureau announced Tuesday that the annual inflation reached 6.70 per cent in June, falling from 7.32 per cent in May.
On month, inflation accelerated at 0.43 per cent in June from 0. 16 per cent in May, Head of the bureau named only Suryamin said.
But the rise remained below the average of seasonal figure of 0. 56 per cent in June, Deputy Governor of Central Bank Mirza Adityawara has said.
Muslims in Indonesia, the world biggest Muslim country, are to start performing fasting on June 28. The demands for foods commonly soars before the Islamic holy month of Ramadhan.
Most of Indonesia's 238 million populations are Muslim.
Core inflation, excluding volatile prices for items such as food and government-regulated prices for products including fuel, chalked 4.81 per cent in June, falling from 4.82 per cent in May on yearly basis, Suryamin disclosed.
The central bank estimates inflation at 3.5 to 5.5 per cent this year.
That may lead the central bank to keep its benchmark interest rate unchanged at 7.5 per cent at its board meeting at the beginning of July and stick on its policy to keep implementing a tight monetary policy this year.
The policy aims at guarding the Southeast Asia's largest economy from possible risks of the global economy amid efforts to narrow current account gap, Agus Martowardojo, governor of the bank has said.
The bank has aggressively raised its benchmark interest rate by 1.75 percentage points to 7.50 per cent from last June to November, which has been successful in putting Indonesia on a right course to fare better among the emerging economies battered by capital outflows.