Indonesia’s Annual Inflation Rate Slows as COVID-19 Reduces Consumer Spending

Indonesia's inflation rate eased in April 2020, as the measures taken to curb the spread of COVID-19 continued to reduce demand, according to data from Statistics Indonesia (BPS). The consumer price index reduced 2.67% in April 2020, compared to 2.96% in March 2020.

According to the Head of BPS, Kecuk Suhariyanto, the core inflation rate of Indonesia declined to 2.85% on a year-on-year (YoY) basis from 2.87% YoY in the preceding month, in addition to the inflation falling to 0.08% in April 2020, compared to 0.1% in March 2020.

He added that the inflation trend for April 2020 has been unusual, as the inflation rate has historically trended upwards over the period that corresponds with...