Purbaya States That Public Purchasing Power is Starting to Strengthen

Finance Minister Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa has claimed that public purchasing power is beginning to improve at the start of 2026. This is evident from the strong growth in household consumption amid various concerns about economic slowdowns. Purbaya stated that household consumption grew above five per cent in the first quarter of this year. According to him, this condition indicates that the public still has sufficient spending capacity. “Look at the household consumption growth rate? 5.2 per cent, right? That means public purchasing power is also improving,” said Purbaya during a media briefing at the Ministry of Finance, Jakarta, on Monday (11/5/2026). He assessed that the strengthening of purchasing power is inseparable from various government measures to accelerate state spending since the beginning of the year. The government, he said, deliberately sped up subsidy payments, ministerial expenditures, and budget disbursements to several sectors so that money circulation in society occurs more quickly. Purbaya gave examples, such as the acceleration of fertiliser subsidy payments and government obligations to Pertamina, which help drive the economy. According to him, when payments are made faster, money circulation in the business sector also becomes smoother. In addition, the momentum of Ramadan and Eid al-Fitr also supports public consumption. However, Purbaya emphasised that consumption growth still shows a fairly good purchasing power condition. “If you don’t have money, you don’t have money. So this shows that public purchasing power is indeed good,” he said. Nevertheless, Purbaya acknowledged that the national economic condition is not yet fully perfect. He assessed that there are still segments of society that have not equally enjoyed economic growth. However, according to him, this condition does not mean that the Indonesian economy is heading towards a crisis.