REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA -- Indonesia's monthly inflation rate rose 0.17 percent in March 2015, bringing the year-on-year inflation rate to 6.38 percent, according to the Central Statistics Agency (BPS).

"Overall, despite inflation in March, the calendar year 2015 recorded a deflation of 0.44 percent because we saw 0.24 percent deflation in January and 0.36 percent deflation in February," BPS Chief Suryamin said here on Wednesday.

With a 0.17 percent inflation rate in March, the year-on-year inflation rate reached 6.38 percent. In addition, core component inflation stood at 0.29 percent in March and reached 5.04 percent on a yearly basis.

Among the commodities that contributed to the March 2015 inflation were gasoline, onion, rice, household fuels, papaya, and cigarettes. The increase in construction workers' wages and general practitioners' tariffs also added to it.

However, the prices of red chili, purebred chicken and egg, fresh fish, tomato, carrot, gold jewelry, potato, water melon, and bird's eye chili, as well as electricity and air transport tariffs, declined.

On the spending side, transportation, communication and financial service sectors contributed the largest to the March 2015 inflation at 0.77 percent, followed by healthcare at 0.64 percent.

"Despite contributing to the inflation, the transportation sector, including air transport tariffs and railway tickets, recorded deflation. The inflation in the healthcare sector was caused by doctors' tariff hikes," he noted.

Moreover, the prices of processed foods, beverages, cigarettes and tobacco rose 0.61 percent in March from that a month earlier, while the prices of housing, water, electrical power, gas and fuel rose 0.29 percent and education, recreation and sports increased 0.1 percent.

The prices of foodstuffs and garments dropped, contributing 0.73 percent and 0.08 percent to deflation, respectively.

Suryamin revealed that 54 of 82 cities surveyed for consumer price index recorded inflation, while 28 saw deflation. The highest inflation of 0.84 percent was recorded in Manokwari.

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