JAKARTA, Jan. 22 (Xinhua) -- The Indonesian government set a lower inflation rate this year amid rising food prices, Chief Economic Minister Darmin Nasution said here on Monday.
The government set a 2.5- to 4.5-percent inflation target this year compared with a 3- to 5-percent target of last year, Nasution said.
"Actually Indonesia wants the trend of inflation to be down every year," he said at the central bank headquarters.
The government decided to keep electricity and fuel prices, which are major contributors to inflation, stable at the first quarter of this year, a move aiming at boosting people's purchasing power in the country where consumption accounts for over half of the GDP growth, he said.
For 2020, the government expects consumer price index at the range of 2 to 4 percent, he added.
Lower inflation is expected to lure foreign investment as it will add value of their return as the government has aims to focus on efforts to raise foreign investment to help spur growth.
The economy is estimated to grow 5.17 percent this year, the minister said.
