Indonesia's inflation dropped unexpectedly in May on falling food and clothing prices, easing pressure on the central bank to hike rates, according to data from Statistics Indonesia, released Friday.
Consumer prices rose 4.45 percent year-on-year in May, while economists were forecasting a faster growth of 4.63 percent. Inflation stood at 4.5 percent in April.
On a monthly basis, inflation fell to 0.07 percent from 0.21 percent in April.
Excluding volatile food and energy prices, core inflation slowed to 4.14 percent from 4.24 percent a month ago.
In a separate report, the statistical office said exports dropped 3.5 percent in April from a year ago, in contrast to the expected growth of 2.6 percent. At the same time, import climbed 11.7 percent annually, slower than the 10 percent rise forecast by economists.
The trade balance showed a $641 million deficit in April, which was the first shortfall since July 2010.
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