Jakarta. Indonesia’s monthly inflation rose to 1.17 percent in April, driven primarily by higher electricity tariffs and surging gold jewelry prices, the Central Statistics Agency (BPS) reported on Friday.

Although the April inflation rate was lower than the 1.65 percent recorded in March, the country still saw a year-on-year inflation rate of 1.95 percent, according to BPS.

Pudji Ismartini, a deputy at BPS, told a press conference that the housing, electricity, and household fuel group contributed the most to April’s inflation, accounting for 0.98 percent of the total.

“Electricity tariffs alone contributed 0.97 percent to overall monthly inflation,” Pudji said, noting an average increase of 26.99 percent in electricity prices.

The spike follows the government’s decision to end a 50 percent discount on post-paid electricity bills, allowing rates to return to normal levels.

Gold jewelry was the second-largest contributor to inflation, accounting for 0.16 percent of the monthly rise. This was driven by continued increases in global gold prices. According to BPS, gold jewelry experienced a record-breaking 10.52 percent month-to-month inflation.

“This is the highest monthly inflation for gold jewelry in the past 20 months,” Pudji said, adding that the category had not seen double-digit inflation since at least early 2023.

Some food commodities also saw price increases in April. Shallots contributed 0.06 percent to the overall inflation, while red chilies and tomatoes added 0.04 percent and 0.03 percent, respectively -- each a staple in Indonesian cuisine.

However, price declines in other food items helped ease the overall inflation rate. Bird’s eye chilies contributed 0.08 percent in deflation, followed by broiler chicken (0.06 percent) and chicken eggs (0.04 percent).

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