JAKARTA: Indonesia’s annual inflation rate eased more than expected in May, data from the statistics bureau showed on Monday, remaining within the central bank’s 1.5% to 3.5% target range.

The May headline inflation rate was 2.84%, down from 3% in April.

A Reuters poll of analysts had expected an inflation rate of 2.94% in May.

The annual core inflation rate, however, picked up slightly to 1.93% in May, from 1.82% the previous month.

The poll had predicted a 1.86% rate in May.

Inflation has stayed within Bank Indonesia’s target range since the middle of last year.

The central bank has delivered a cumulative 275 basis point rate hikes since mid-2022. Monetary policymakers are still monitoring the rupiah’s recent weakness against the US dollar as it could bring imported inflation into Southeast Asia’s largest economy.

BI’s last rate hike in April was in response to the rupiah falling to its lowest against the dollar since 2020.

Finance ministry sees headline inflation decelerating further to 18.5-19.5% in April

The decline in the inflation rate was in line with the seasonal pattern after Eid al-Fitr, when demand usually falls, acting head of Statistics Indonesia, Amalia Adininggar Widyasanti, told a press briefing.

Volatile food inflation also eased last month, as rice prices continued to fall on a monthly basis amid ample supplies during harvest season.