Minister Purbaya Confident Pertamax Fuel Price Will Fall

Finance Minister Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa has expressed optimism regarding a potential decrease in the price of non-subsidised Pertamax fuel. He is confident the price will fall in line with the recent decline in global oil prices. “I expect that after global oil prices have slowly decreased, the price of Pertamax will also gradually fall in line with global oil prices. So, inflationary pressure will soon ease,” Purbaya stated at the Ministry of Finance office in Central Jakarta, quoted on Friday (3/7/2026). He further explained that the current rise in inflation is largely influenced by temporary factors, such as spikes in food and energy prices. Based on this data, Purbaya believes inflationary pressures will subside as commodity prices fall. He noted that core inflation remains relatively under control at 2.76%, suggesting the current increase is not driven by a surge in consumer demand but rather by fluctuating prices. “We see core inflation at 2.76%, which is still relatively under control. So, it is just due to fluctuating prices—oil, fuel, and perhaps food prices. This should disappear in the next few months because the core is still stable. So, the increase is not due to demand growing too fast,” Purbaya explained. The Central Statistics Agency (BPS) recorded monthly inflation of 0.44% in June 2026. Ateng Hartono, BPS Deputy for Distribution and Services Statistics, stated that the monthly inflation was driven by a 2.29% increase in the transportation sector, contributing 0.28% to the overall figure. “The dominant commodities driving transportation inflation were petrol, contributing 0.21%, airfares contributing 0.05%, and engine oil contributing 0.01%,” Ateng said during a press conference. He explained that the inflation in July was driven by rising petrol prices, airfares, and lubricants, acknowledging that the adjustment of non-subsidised fuel prices had a significant impact. Meanwhile, the increase in airfares was driven by rising demand during the school holiday period.