Inflation rate 0.78 percent in April: Finance ministry

Inflation rate 0.78 percent in April: Finance ministry

JAKARTA (JP): The Ministry of Finance yesterday announced an inflation rate of 0.78 percent in April, after recording deflation of 0.61 percent in March.

A spokesman for the ministry, Agus Haryanto, said that the April inflation rate was lower than the 1.69 percent recorded in April of last year.

April's inflation brought the country's cumulative inflation rate in the Jan-April period to 4.04 percent, lower than the 4.73 percent in same period of 1995.

Agus said that April's inflation rate increase was attributed to the surge in the price index of services by 4.87 percent, clothing by 0.49 percent and housing by 0.66 percent.

The price index of foodstuffs, which declined by 2.22 percent in March, further dropped by 1.95 percent in April.

Agus attributed the drop in the foodstuffs price index to successful rice harvests in most parts of the country and a drop in the prices of spices during that month.

He said that the 0.64 percent rise in the housing price index resulted in part from the surge in housing equipment prices.

"The main factor behind the rise in the housing sector price index was the sharp increase in the wages of construction workers," Agus said.

He said that the 4.87 percent increase in the services price index was fueled by the increase in transportation fares.

The annual inflation rate declined to 8.64 percent last year, from 9.24 in 1994.

Analysts estimate this year's inflation rate will be around last year's level. (hen)