BPS : Q1 GROWTH ESTIMATED TO EXCEED 4 PCT

Jakarta, Apr 22 (ANTARA) - The Central Statistics Bureau (BPS) said the country's economic growth rate in the first quarter of 2009 is estimated to exceed 4 percent.

"It is almost certain that the growth rate will exceed 4 percent. But I don't know the exact figure yet," BPS Chief Rusman Heriawan said here on Tuesday.
The government has set the target for the first-quarter economic growth rate at 4.3-4.8 percent, while Bank Indonesia (the central bank/BI) put the figure at 4.6 percent.
"Our figure is likely to be within the same range. After all, BPS has to use empirical data to come to the figure," he said.
Asked why the first-quarter economic growth rate would exceed 4 percent, he said election-related spending was one of the contributing factors.
"The elections were also a stimulus for economic growth," he said.
The BPS chief further predicted that the monthly inflation rate in April would be the same as in the previous month.
"Indeed the figure was this month is quite good. The monthly inflation rate in April will be about the same as in March when the prices of essential commodities, including rice, beef and chicken meat went down. Only the prices of cooking oil rose following an increase in the prices of the commodity in the global market," he said.
BPS said early this month the monthly inflation rate in March stood at 0.22 percent, bringing the calendar inflation rate to 0.36 percent and the year-on-year inflation rate to 7.92 percent.