Jakarta – Inflation in Indonesia rose 1.99 percent in January and surged 14.42 percent year-on-year, the Central Bureau of Statistics said Friday.

Bureau chief Sudarti Surbakti said the January consumer price indexfigure showed a "significant increase" as a result of a fuel price rise in the middle of the month.

The government raised fuel prices by an average 22 percent in a bid to ease the budget burden of subsidies and to curb the smuggling of fuel out of the country.

Sudarti said significant price rises were seen in rice, which was up 11.97 percent during the month, as well as fresh fish. The higher fuel tariff is also likely to affect prices in February, she said.

Floods currently paralysing Jakarta appear to be affecting distribution of goods, which may have a knock-on effect on prices. But Sudarti declined to comment on the floods' impact on February CPI. This year's budget assumes an inflation rate of 9.0 percent.