Jakarta. Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa said Indonesia’s inflation held steady at 2.42% year-on-year in April, as the government absorbed part of the global energy price shock to keep fuel costs and purchasing power in check.

“Inflation looks good today, right? As I said before, it was previously higher due to subsidy factors. Once those effects fade, it returns to around 2.4%,” Purbaya said in Jakarta on Monday.

Data from the Central Statistics Agency showed April inflation rose to 2.42% yoy, up from 1.95% a year earlier. On a monthly basis, inflation stood at 0.13%, while year-to-date inflation reached 2.06%. The consumer price index increased from 110.95 in March to 111.09 in April 2026.

Purbaya said inflation stability was largely driven by government intervention in energy pricing, with authorities choosing to absorb part of the global oil price increase rather than passing it fully on to consumers.

“If we let fuel prices fully follow global oil prices, inflation would rise significantly and erode purchasing power. The oil effect would add substantially. That is why we are maintaining part of the fuel subsidy,” he said.

He added that the policy had been carefully calculated, weighing its impact on inflation, household consumption, and overall economic growth. The government considers price stability crucial to sustaining the recovery momentum.

“Our calculation is simple: which is better, subsidizing or removing subsidies? We may have the funds and spend them, but if the economy collapses because it becomes difficult to control, that’s not worth it,” Purbaya said.

Purbaya added that the actual inflation figure came in below earlier forecasts by some economists, who had projected inflation to reach between 3% and 4%.

“Now you can question those economists who said it would hit 3% to 4% and become uncontrollable. As you can see, it’s stable,” he added.

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