Food Price Drop Led to Deflation in March
JAKARTA Jakarta saw a deflation rate of 0.01 percent in March following a decrease in prices of staple food commodities, the Central Statistics Agency (BPS) reported Friday.BPS Jakarta chief Agus Suherman said the city had seen an average decrease of food prices of 0.63 percent in the month, mainly due to price drops of rice, chicken and fresh fish.”The inflation rate in the years first quarter was recorded at 0.68 percent, while the year-on-year inflation was 5.95 percent,” Agus said.Agus said food prices was one of six consumer expense groups that had a major impact on inflation.The other groups are ready-to-eat foods, beverages, cigarettes and tobacco; health; transportation, communications and financial services; housing, clean water, electricity, gas and fuel; and education, recreation and sports.”Only the food group saw a price decrease in March, but it affected the other groups,” he said.
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