BOGOR, West Java, Indonesia, Nov 24 (Xinhua): The Indonesian government took measures to control the hikes of goods' prices across the country following the raise of subsidised-fuel prices by nearly 31 per cent last week.
Indonesian President Joko Widodo on Monday told governors from all 34 provinces in a meeting at the Botanical garden Palace here to check the stockpiles and distribution of goods in their provinces as the president expected the price hikes contributed by the fuel price increase to be no more than 2 per cent this year.
"On inflation, I told (the governors) to monitor the stockpiles of goods and their distribution," Jokowi, as Widodo is known, said after the meeting with the governor at the palace.
"The additional inflation that we target is no more than 2 per cent. It must not be over that," he stressed.
That was not in line with the central bank calculation which has said that the additional inflation from the fuel price hike may reach 3 per cent. Jokowi disclosed that he considered the current goods' price hikes remained in control.
"We don't need to worry about the information," he said.
The country's central bank, Bank Indonesia, has forecast inflation at 3.5 to 5.5 per cent at the end of year, but the fuel price rise may push up the inflation.
The Indonesian government rose the fuel prices last Monday by nearly 31 per cent to bolster government finances and help with the nation's trade imbalance.
The new policy gives certainty to investors that the Indonesian government plans to build massive infrastructures in the country, as President Jokowi aims to pursue over 7 per cent GDP within 2 years, compared with this year's 5.2 to 5.3 per cent GDP expectation.
Indonesia takes measures to contain risk of inflation
FE Team | Published: November 25, 2014 00:00:00 | Updated: November 30, 2026 06:01:00
Share if you like