Indonesia Inflation Picks Up in June, Beating Expectations

JAKARTA, Indonesia--Indonesia's inflation picked up slightly in June as demand rose during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, but was relatively more benign than in previous years, the official Statistics Agency said Monday.

Prices of goods and services at the consumer level rose 4.37% in June from a year earlier, accelerating from 4.33% in May. Consumer prices were up 0.69% from the previous month, compared with a 0.39% increase in May.

The median forecast of 10 economists polled by The Wall Street Journal was for inflation to rise 4.34% on year and 0.61% on month.

"Inflation during this year's Eid holiday was relatively more controllable," said Suhariyanto, chairman of the agency.

The biggest contributor to inflation was transportation costs, which rose 1.27% in June from May, as operators raised charges during the peak season, when millions of Indonesian Muslims return to their hometown to celebrate Eid al-Fitr, which marks the end of Ramadan.

Clothing and jewelry prices increased 0.75%, and basic food prices rose 0.69% after authorities took steps to limit price increases.

Core inflation, which excludes volatile food prices and costs determined by the government, slowed to 3.13% from 3.20% in May, reflecting the economy's muted recovery.

Write to I Made Sentana at i-made.sentana@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

July 03, 2017 01:08 ET (05:08 GMT)