RI inflation to exceed target, touch 7%: BPS<\/p>\n
Dow Jones
\nJakarta<\/p>\n
Indonesia's inflation rate is expected to touch 7 percent for
\nthe whole year, exceeding the government's target of 6.5 percent
\n- due mostly to the rupiah's weakness, a government official said
\nFriday.<\/p>\n
\"For the first six months of this year, the consumer price had
\nalready risen 3.29 percent,\" La Ode Syaifuddin, the deputy
\nchairman of the Central Bureau of Statistics, told reporters.<\/p>\n
In the same period, the rupiah has fallen 9.5 percent against
\nthe US dollar.<\/p>\n
La Ode said, however, that a higher consumer spending would be
\ngood for the economy, which is expected to have grown more in the
\nsecond quarter than in the first.<\/p>\n
The economy grew 4.46 percent on year in the first quarter. He
\ndidn't say exactly how much the economy is expected to have grown
\nin the second quarter.<\/p>\n
La Ode said an expected increase in consumer spending during
\nthe current presidential elections' period - which is likely to
\nend in September latest - would stoke inflation. Religious
\nfestivities in the fourth quarter of the year will also add to
\ninflationary pressures, he said.<\/p>\n
The first round of presidential voting will be held Monday,
\nfollowed by a face-off in September between the two highest vote
\nwinners if no candidate bags more than 50 percent of the votes.<\/p>\n
Ahead of the parliamentary elections in April, political
\nparties spent heavily, printing party flags and handing out small
\ngifts such as instant noodles to voters.<\/p>\n
That spending has continued. Aviliani, an economist with the
\nInstitute for the Development of Economics and Finance, an
\nindependent think-tank, estimates politicians will spend up to Rp
\n15 trillion (US$1.6 billion) this year.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/ri-inflation-to-exceed-target-touch-7-bps-1447893297",
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