Indonesia Says Inflation a Priority for 1 1/2 Years
Written on July 23, 2008
Bank Indonesia's Governor Boediono said fighting inflation will be the central bank's priority for the next 1 1/2 years, leaving the government to focus on boosting growth in Southeast Asia's biggest economy.
“Between inflation and growth, inflation will be our priority now,'' Boediono told reporters in Jakarta today. “The indicators of our macro economic condition are good. We do not have any concerns on economic growth.''
Bank Indonesia may raise borrowing costs, boost the currency and impose extra non-cash reserve requirements on lenders to keep inflation within its target, Boediono said on July 9. The central bank, which wants to keep inflation below 12.5 percent this year, said consumer price gains peaked last month after a May fuel price increase of about 30 percent.
The central bank expects inflation will slow to between 3 percent and 4 percent in five years same day payday loans.
The rupiah has risen 1.4 percent in the past month, making it the second-best performing among 10 Asian currencies outside Japan tracked by Bloomberg. It gained 0.2 percent to 9,140 against the dollar at 10:22 a.m. in Jakarta.
Cheap credit till two months ago helped carmakers including Toyota Motor Corp. boost sales in Indonesia by 39 percent from a year earlier to a record 54,631 units in June.
The government will introduce policies to improve the investment climate and infrastructure to ensure the economy expands 6.2 percent next year even as borrowing costs rise, Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati said yesterday. Indonesia's economy expanded 6.3 percent in 2007.
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