JAKARTA, Jan. 9 (Xinhua) -- Retail sales in Indonesia, where consumption accounts for the largest to the GDP growth, drifted higher in November year-over-year amid rising demand of clothes, fuels for automotive and recreation and cultural-linked products, a survey carried out by the central bank showed here on Wednesday.
Indonesia registered a 3.4 percent growth of retail sales in November on a yearly basis, ticking up from a 2.9 percent in the previous month.
The expansion is looked to persist in December, as the retail sales are projected to further climb to a 7.4 percent year-over-year for rising demand on clothes, fuels for automotive, and culture and recreation-linked products.
Besides, the hikes of demand on foods and beverage products, and tobacco also factored ahead and during the seasonal celebration of Christmas and the New Year.
In the next three months till February, the price pressure is estimated to ease, indicted by index of price expectation of 160.1, falling from 163.9 in the previous month.
The retail sales growth in November was in line with the acceleration of people's buying power in the month as the data from the national statistics bureau unveiled that annualized core inflation, stripping off administered prices and volatile food prices, picked up to a 3.03 percent in November compared with a 2.94 percent in October.
Indonesia's consumer price index reached a 3.13 percent in 2018, according to the data from the bureau.
The Indonesian government has brought down economic growth projection to 5.17 to 5.4 percent for last year as the country's central bank had applied a tightening cycle by rising its benchmark interest rate by 175 basis points since May 17 to six percent before it took a pause last month.
