Indonesia inflation eases to 6.84 percent

JAKARTA: Indonesia said Tuesday that consumer prices rose 6.84 percent in February from a year earlier, less than expected due to softening food prices.

Month-on-month inflation slowed to 0.13 percent compared with 0.89 percent in January, according to the statistics agency.

The year-on-year rise in January was 7.02 percent, and the market expected a rise of 7.15 percent in February.

Annualised core inflation, which excludes volatile food prices, accelerated to 4.36 percent last month compared with 4.18 percent in January.

Bank Indonesia increased its rate in February due to concerns that rising food prices could stoke inflation.

Extreme weather that disrupted harvests and food distribution pushed last year's annual inflation close to seven percent.

"The central bank is likely to maintain its key interest rate of 6.75 percent," said Ciptadana Securities analyst Syaiful Adrian.