Letters: It is all very confusing!

Browsing through retail advertisements in national newspapers from last year and comparing current product prices in supermarkets provides a cost difference of between 12 and 17 percent.

Admittedly, the items listed in last year’s advertisements are promotional items that are competitively priced to attract customers, but the price differences are much higher than the official inflation rate published by BPS (the Central Statistics Agency).

I am not an economist but I understand that inflation means a rise in the general level of prices of goods and services in the economy over a period of time.

Text books claim that the inflation rate is the percentage change in a general price index - usually known as the Consumer Price Index - over time.

According to text books, the price change is measured from a large “basket” of representative goods and services that are purchased by a “typical” consumer.

The BPS publishes the inflation rate on a monthly basis but doesn’t provide any details regarding the goods and services that are surveyed to establish the rate.

In the spirit of transparency and accountability, why doesn’t the BPS provide detailed data to support its configuration of the monthly inflation rate?

Simon
Jakarta