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Consumer prices fall in September on cheaper foods
Indonesia has recorded a second monthly drop in consumer prices this year, while the annual rate remains low at a time when inflation is soaring in many other countries.
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A worker collects eggs at the Sekuntum Herbal layer chicken farm in Purbolinggo, East Lampung, in this file photo from July 2019. A strong decline in the price of chicken eggs helped drive overall food prices down in September 2021. (JP/Ivany Atina Arbi)
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ndonesia’s consumer price index (CPI) dropped in September on the back of cheaper staple food items, thanks in part to seasonal factors.
Statistics Indonesia (BPS) announced on Friday that the CPI posted a 0.04 percent month-to-month (mtm) decline in September, nearly on a par with the 0.05 percent monthly deflation recorded in the same period last year. Prices tend to decline from August to September.
On an annual basis, consumer prices rose 1.60 percent in September, picking up slightly from the previous month’s figure, as well as from the figure recorded a year earlier in September 2020.
“This is the second [monthly] deflation this year after the one that occurred in June,” BPS head Margo Yuwono told a virtual press briefing on Friday. “In June, it was 0.16 percent.”
Inflation has so far stayed muted this year as the government’s mobility curbs to control the COVID-19 pandemic weighed on consumer demand.
Read also: In contrast to developed economies, inflation in Indonesia remains mild
Spending on food, beverage and tobacco accounted for 0.12 percentage points of deflation from August to September, making it the largest contributor. Chicken eggs in particular drove food prices down, followed by chilies, shallots, grapes, garlic and fresh fish.
