Driven By The Increase In Chili Prices, March Inflation Is Predicted To Be Like This

JAKARTA - Bank Indonesia (BI) predicts that the inflation position in March 2022 will reach 0.48 percent compared to the previous month (month to month/mtm). This position was mainly contributed by the increase in the price of red chili and gold jewelry.

Until the second week of March 2022, red chili commodities have contributed 0.09 percent (mtm), while the contribution of gold jewelry was recorded at 0.05 percent (mtm), with both being the largest contribution to the current inflation position.

"Then the other main contributors to inflation were cayenne pepper, broiler eggs, and household fuel, each of which contributed 0.04 percent (mtm), purebred chicken meat, tempeh, and powder/liquid detergent soap each amounting to Rp. 0.03 percent (mtm), shallots, raw tofu, and beef each at 0.02 percent (mtm), and oranges and filtered kretek cigarettes each at 0.01 percent (mtm)," said the Director The Chief Executive of the BI Communications Department, Erwin Haryono, in his official statement, in Jakarta, as reported by Antara, Thursday, March 11.

According to Erwin, the projection that March inflation will be at the level of 4.48 is based on the Price Monitoring Survey in the second week of March 2022, which reflects that price developments remain under control.

With these developments, the estimated inflation for March 2022 is 1.04 percent on a calendar year basis (year to date/ytd) and 2.48 percent when compared to the same period the previous year (year on year/yoy).

Meanwhile, continued Erwin, commodities experiencing deflation were cooking oil by 0.05 percent (mtm) and tomatoes by 0.01 percent (mtm).

BI will continue to strengthen coordination with the government and relevant authorities to closely monitor the dynamics of the spread of COVID-19 and its impact on the Indonesian economy from time to time.

In addition, further policy coordination steps that need to be taken will also be carried out to maintain macroeconomic and financial system stability, as well as support Indonesia's economic growth to remain sound and resilient.