JAKARTA, April 14 (Xinhua) -- The Indonesian government has said the country is preparing to face a spike in inflation in the coming months caused by high global commodity prices, which may lead to a slowdown in the post-pandemic economic recovery.
Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati said Friday at the ASEAN (the Association of Southeast Asian Nations) Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors Meeting (AFMGM) session that the surge in the global commodity prices was believed to happen as the spillover effect of the Ukraine crisis.
"This is a serious challenge for all policymakers, maybe not only in Indonesia, but all ASEAN countries," the minister said.
Indonesia's Consumer Price Index in March rose by 2.64 percent year-on-year, the highest increase since April 2020, according to the country's Statistics Indonesia (BPS).
The Indonesian people have seen a surge in cooking oil prices up to 6 percent in the domestic market since the government removed the price cap on cooking oil in February following an increase in international crude palm oil (CPO) prices.
In the Southeast Asia's largest economy, most of the cooking oil used by the people is sourced from palm oil.
Produced by Xinhua Global Service
