Deflation of 0.18% in September
The Central Statistics Agency (BPS) released September’s deflation of 0.18% m-m, bigger than August’s deflation of 0.05%. September’s deflation mainly sourced from corrections to foodstuff and halted acceleration in core inflation. In September, the foodstuff was deflated by 1.62% m-m, bigger than August’s deflation of 1.10% m-m. On annual basis, September’s inflation was at 2.88%, lower than August’s inflation of 3.20%. On the other side, September’s core inflation was at 2.82% y-y, lower than August’s core inflation of 2.90%. The discontinued acceleration in core inflation showed the constrained rate of domestic demand. The expectancy of the rupiah depreciation caused consumers’ confidence to lower.
Rally in Global Crude Prices
Global crude prices hit the highest since November 2014. On Wednesday, 10/03/2018/, Brent crude usually imported by Indonesia was traded at the level of USD86.29 per barrel. Meanwhile, the U.S. benchmark crude, light sweet, was traded at USD76.41 per barrel. The major factor driving global crude higher was the jitters of the U.S. sanctions against Iran potential for reducing supplies of global crude.
Download full report HERE.
