Home Affairs Minister says inflation in three affected provinces beginning to stabilise

This means that the efforts undertaken so far to normalise Aceh, West Sumatra, and North Sumatra in controlling the prices of goods and services have been quite effective, as many supplies have already entered the regions. Jakarta (ANTARA) - Home Affairs Minister Muhammad Tito Karnavian stated that monthly (month-to-month) inflation in the three disaster-affected provinces is showing improvement alongside the recovery of goods and services distribution. Tito noted that this improvement serves as an indicator that normalisation efforts for social and economic infrastructure are positively contributing to supply availability and control of essential commodity prices. “This means that what has been done so far to normalise Aceh, West Sumatra, and North Sumatra in controlling the prices of goods and services has been quite good, because many supplies have already entered,” Tito said during the Inflation Control Coordination Meeting at the Ministry of Home Affairs Headquarters in Jakarta on Monday. He explained that West Sumatra and Aceh each recorded monthly inflation of 0.04%, while North Sumatra experienced deflation of 0.13%. This improvement signals that supply availability and distribution smoothness in the affected areas are beginning to stabilise. Tito emphasised the importance of maintaining this momentum through monitoring inflation components and strengthening coordination between the central and regional governments. “Year-on-year inflation data is good for national and international reference. But for controlling inflation, month-to-month is more appropriate,” he said. Nationally, inflation was recorded to have decreased from 4.76% to 3.48%. Meanwhile, monthly inflation also eased from 0.68% to 0.41%. This development was influenced, among others, by the normalisation of electricity tariffs as well as increased mobility during the long holiday and festive period, which impacted the food, beverages, and transportation groups.