A customer accesses a ride-hailing application as app-based motorcycle taxi drivers wait on the roadside near Palmerah Station in Jakarta (Source: thejakartapost.com)Jakarta (VNA) –The Statistics Indonesia (BPS) has started to include prices of servicesprovided by ride-hailing providers Gojek and Grab in the country's inflationcalculation.
BPS head Suhariyanto said onFebruary 3 that the agency incorporated the new price component into thecountry’s consumer price index (CPI) because of their “significant economicsizes”.
Ride hailing service is among98 new commodities, such as cellphone accessories, according to Suhariyanto.These components are growing significantly and have substantial economicactivities, he explained.
In addition to the newcomponents, the BPS also changed the CPI base year to 2018 from 2012.
Using new formula, January’sCPI was calculated at 0.39 percent compared to the previous month and at 0.32percent compared to a year ago.
The different components usedin the calculation, however, did not significantly affect this year’s inflationrate compared to previous years, Suhariyanto added.
The main cause of the inflation last month was the increased prices of chilies, fish and tobacco, despite declining prices of flight tickets and fuel, he said, noting that the Indonesian government’s decision to lower the prices of fuel and flight tickets had contributed to deflation inJanuary.
Indonesia recorded an annual inflation of2.72 percent in 2019, the lowest level in about two decades
Bank Indonesia has aimed forinflation to be 2 – 4 percent this year while the government targets a CPI of3.1 percent in its 2020 state budget./.
VNA
