Jakarta – Indonesia's consumer price index (CPI) rose 0.06% in October from September, and was up 1.58% from a year earlier, the Central Bureau of Statistics said Monday. Bureau head Sugito Suwito said he saw the inflation rate for the whole of 1999 at no higher than 2.5% despite an anticipated rise in the index in December.

He said the CPI was down 3.85% in the first seven months of the fiscal year ending March 2000, but was up 0.08% in the 10 months to October.

In October food prices were down 0.76% from September, while prices of health-related products and services were up 0.03%.

Prices of processed food, beverages, cigarettes and tobacco were down 0.06% month-on-month, housing up 0.20% and clothing prices up 1.13%. Education, recreation and sport costs were all up 0.38%, and transport and communications up 0.81%.

Suwito said the main contributor to inflation in October was the rise in clothing prices. Festivities in December and early next year, including Christmas, New Year and the end of the Muslim fasting month, will likely push prices up, he said.

"Although prices are likely to go up at the end of this year, I don't think the inflation rate for 1999 will be higher than 2.5%," Suwito said, attributing the expected rise to higher transport fares and a cut in fuel subsidy.

He added: "There should be no problem with food supply in December. I'm not that concerned with rice supply." But Suwato did express concern about beef supplies in the coming months because of hostility among Indonesians toward Australia, a main source of Indonesian beef imports, caused by tensions over East Timor.