The Jakarta Post
Weakening consumer demand persists in Indonesia despite a jump in annual inflation recorded in November as the pandemic-induced economic downturn continues to batter purchasing power. Indonesia’s inflation rate picked up in November to 1.59 percent year-on-year (yoy), the highest level since June as the rainy season hindered the distribution of goods and services, Statistics Indonesia (BPS) announced Tuesday. The consumer price index (CPI) picked up for the third time in a row and was higher than the 1.44 percent recorded in October but still below Bank Indonesia’s (BI) target range of 2 to 4 percent. On a month-to-month basis, the CPI rose 0.28 percent, the highest since February this year before the country saw COVID-19 cases. The November inflation was driven by the rising prices of chicken eggs, red chili, shallots and airline prices, among other products. Rea...