JAKARTA, June 3 (Xinhua) — Indonesia reported an annual inflation rate of 2.84 percent in May, down from the previous month’s 3.0 percent, yet still within the central bank’s target range of 1.5 to 3.5 percent, as announced by Statistics Indonesia (BPS) on Monday.

According to Acting Head of BPS Amalia Adininggar Widyasanti, annual inflation was driven by price increases in food, beverages, and tobacco by 6.18 percent, personal care and other services by 4.99 percent, and restaurants by 2.51 percent.

This annual inflation was also influenced by decreases in expenditure groups such as information, communications, and financial services, which fell by 0.16 percent.

Widyasanti also stated that the country also experienced a monthly deflation of 0.03 percent in May, marking the first deflation since August 2023.

Since August 2022, Bank Indonesia has increased its benchmark interest rate by 275 basis points to 6.25 percent in an effort to control inflation and maintain the value of the rupiah.