{
    "success": true,
    "data": {
        "id": 1799862,
        "msgid": "pertamax-price-hike-could-trigger-delay-in-non-essential-spending-expert-warns-1781254459",
        "date": "2026-06-12 15:18:55",
        "title": "Pertamax price hike could trigger delay in non-essential spending, expert warns",
        "author": "",
        "source": "ANTARA_ID",
        "tags": "",
        "topic": "Economy",
        "summary": "An economist from Universitas Airlangga has warned that the recent increase in the price of non-subsidised Pertamax fuel may force middle-class households to postpone discretionary spending. The rise is expected to reduce disposable income as transport costs swell, with potential knock-on effects for sectors like online ride-hailing and food delivery. While the direct impact on headline inflation is seen as limited, the expert projects June 2026 inflation could face significant pressure from transport sector dynamics.",
        "content": "<p>Jakarta (ANTARA) - Professor Rahma Gafmi from the Faculty of\nEconomics and Business at Universitas Airlangga (Unair) has assessed\nthat the increase in the price of non-subsidised Pertamax fuel could\npotentially trigger a delay in non-essential spending by the middle\nclass, as the share of household expenditure on transport grows. \u201cIt\nwill impact the postponement of non-essential spending. Middle-class\nhouseholds will most likely reduce or hold back consumption in secondary\nand tertiary sectors, such as holidays, entertainment, food and beverage\nor eating out, and electronic goods,\u201d Rahma said when contacted by\nAntara in Jakarta on Friday. She noted that the majority of Pertamax\nconsumers come from the middle to upper-middle class groups. When the\nprice of Pertamax rises, this group faces an income effect in the form\nof shrinking disposable income because the household budget allocation\nfor transport swells. She explained that the need for petrol tends to be\ninelastic in the short term because people still have to work and be\nmobile. As a result, spending room for non-essential needs becomes\nincreasingly limited. This condition is considered to burden the middle\nclass, who do not receive fiscal cushions like the poor and vulnerable\npoor groups who receive social assistance (bansos) or direct cash\nassistance (BLT). The middle group, Rahma clarified, must fully absorb\nthe increase in living costs independently amid income or salary growth\nthat tends to be stagnant. This pressure also comes at a less-than-ideal\ntime, coinciding with the new school year, which usually increases\nhousehold spending on education needs. Besides affecting household\nconsumption patterns, the Pertamax price hike also has the potential to\ncause ripple effects across several business sectors. Although it is not\nthe main fuel for the staple goods logistics sector, which generally\nuses diesel, the Pertamax price increase is still considered capable of\nraising operational costs for a number of business actors. She cited\nsectors that rely on private vehicles or operational vehicles using\nnon-subsidised petrol, such as courier services, online motorcycle taxi\ndrivers, and culinary MSMEs that use private vehicles to purchase raw\nmaterials. If the increase in operational costs is passed on to end\nconsumers, the price of goods and services at the retail level could\npotentially rise, adding pressure to core inflation and eroding real\nhousehold purchasing power more broadly. Even so, Rahma assessed that\nthe impact of the Pertamax price hike on headline inflation is still\nrelatively limited. \u201cAlthough the percentage increase (in Pertamax\nprice) is massive, rising about 32 percent from Rp12,300 to Rp16,250 per\nlitre, its domino effect on headline inflation remains under control\nbecause it is not an increase in the logistics sector. Even if there is\nan effect, it is only about 0.1 percent,\u201d she said. Rahma added that the\nPertamax price hike will not immediately trigger an extreme surge in\nnational inflation because the public transport and heavy logistics\nsectors still use subsidised fuels, such as Pertalite and Biosolar.\nNevertheless, she estimates that inflation in June 2026 will remain\nunder pressure. Transport sector dynamics are one of the factors that\ncould potentially push headline inflation (consumer price index\/CPI) to\nincrease compared to the previous month. \u201cThe inflation projection for\nJune 2026 is under quite strong pressure. Transport sector dynamics are\none of the main triggers that could potentially push headline inflation\n(CPI) to creep up to approach or even breach the 4 percent range\nyear-on-year (yoy), increasing from May\u2019s position which was at 3.08\npercent (yoy),\u201d Rahma said.<\/p>",
        "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/pertamax-price-hike-could-trigger-delay-in-non-essential-spending-expert-warns-1781254459",
        "image": ""
    },
    "sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
    "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}