Inflation rate slowed to 4.7 percent in April

JAKARTA (JP): The monthly inflation rate slowed to 4.7 percent in April from 5.49 percent in March, bringing the cumulative increase in the consumer price index to 33.09 percent for the first four months of 1998, the government said yesterday.

Minister of Information Alwi Dahlan told reporters after a monthly cabinet meeting to discuss the economy at the Bina Graha presidential office that President Soeharto had called for greater efforts to curb inflation.

Alwi said inflationary pressures would likely increase in the coming months following the hefty hikes in fuel and electricity prices announced by the government this week.

The President also expressed concern that the unrest could trigger higherinflation. He noted that prices of cooking oil, for example, had soared in spite of plentiful supplies because of fears of possible supply disruption.

People should be informed that the country had enough supply of basic food commodities, he said.

The unrest could trigger panic buying, which would cause prices to increase, the President said. "This in turn will affect international confidence, and we will all suffer for it because these commodities will disappear," he said.

Finance Minister Fuad Bawazier said that starting in April, the government expanded the number of goods from 225 to 330 included in calculating the inflation rate. They are divided into seven instead of four categories. The number of cities covered also expanded from 27 to 44.

Fuad said this method should give a more objective inflation figure. Under the old method, the inflation rate in the first four months of 1998 amounted to 29.83 percent, he added.

The government also released February's trade figures yesterday.

Indonesia had a $1.7 billion surplus in February, from exports worth $3.91 billion and imports of $2.21 billion. By comparison, the country exported $4.08 billion worth of goods and imported $3.12 billion in February 1997.

The cumulative figures for the first two months of 1998 were $8.06 billion for exports and $4.79 billion for imports, giving Indonesia a trade surplus of $3.27 billion. (prb)