Inflation in Indonesia, Thailand on the rise

Indonesia’s inflation in March 2022 reached 0.66 percent month-to-month, according to Statistics Indonesia (BPS).

Head of Statistics Indonesia, Margo Yuwono, addresses a press conference in Jakarta on April 1, 2022. (Photo: ANTARA)

 “It is the highest inflation since May 2019. At the time, the figure was 0.68 percent," BPS head Margo Yuwono was cited by Indonesia's Antara News Agency as informing at a recent press conference on April 1.

The main contributors to inflation in March 2022 were red chili, household fuel, gold jewelry, and cooking oil, he said.

The head of BPS further informed that the limited stock of red chili and the revocation of the Regulation of the Minister of Trade Number 6 of 2022 concerning the Determination of the Highest Retail Price of Palm Cooking Oil triggered the inflation in March 2022.

Meanwhile, the Bank of Thailand (BoT) skyrocketed its inflation rate forecast for this year to 4.9 percent from 1.7 percent because of energy and food price surges attributed to supply shock from the Russia-Ukraine war.

Headline inflation is projected to be 4.9 percent in 2022, higher than the central bank's inflation targeting range of 1-3 percent.

The bank assesses the headline inflation rate will tally 1.7 percent next year, a slight increase from an earlier estimate of 1.4 percent, said Piti Disyatat, Secretary of the central bank's Monetary Policy Committee (MPC).

The BoT also cut its 2022 GDP growth forecast from 3.4 percent to 3.2 percent and slashed the 2023 projection from 4.7 percent to 4.4 percent.

The MPC meeting on March 30 decided to maintain the policy rate at the existing level of 0.5 percent.

Inflation will exceed 5 percent in the second and third quarters this year, driven mainly by rising energy prices and the pass-through of food prices, Piti said.

However, inflation is projected to drop and return to the target range in 2023, owing in part to the assessment that the rise in energy prices will not persist, said the MPC.

The central bank maintained its outlook for foreign arrivals this year at 5.6 million, with Russian and Ukrainian visitors expected to total 400,000./.

VNA