Indonesia’s inflation eased in October. Why did food still feel expensive?

Indonesia’s annual inflation eased to 3.23% in October 2026 from 3.28% in September, yet consumer prices rose another 0.22% during the month, according to Bank Indonesia’s November 2 release. Chili-led food increases help explain how a slowing headline rate can coexist with pressure on everyday spending.

The BPS release, dated November 2 and posted on its public-information portal November 3, puts the consumer price index at 112.56, up from 112.31 in September. ANTARA’s account of the annual figures gives the October 2025 index as 109.04. The monthly and annual rates therefore compare the same current index with different starting points.

A lower annual rate means the increase over the previous 12 months became smaller. It does not mean prices fell between September and October. Nor is 3.23% the increase for October alone. This distinction matters when a report of easing inflation seems at odds with a higher shopping bill.

Chilies lifted the monthly reading

The food, beverages and tobacco group rose 0.51% in October and contributed 0.15 percentage points to the overall 0.22% monthly increase, according to ANTARA’s reporting of the BPS briefing. Red chili contributed 0.13 points, bird’s-eye chili 0.05 and tomatoes 0.04. These are contributions to the overall inflation rate, not the percentage increases in the products’ own prices.

Positive contributions are only part of the calculation: price falls elsewhere can offset them. Adding a few rising products does not reproduce the net change for a whole group or the entire index.

The annual picture was also uneven. Food, beverages and tobacco prices were 4.82% higher than a year earlier, contributing 1.40 percentage points to national annual inflation, ANTARA reported. A household concentrating more of its spending in that category can face a different pattern from the national headline.

Food pressure and easing core inflation moved in different directions

Bank Indonesia separates inflation into core, volatile food and administered-price components. Its October assessment shows the annual volatile-food rate rising while core inflation slowed:

Bank Indonesia attributed chili increases to reduced production in several producing regions. That assessment concerns supply pressure; it does not establish the cause of every price change in an individual market.

The national average is not a household basket

Jakarta recorded a smaller monthly increase, 0.13%, according to ANTARA’s coverage of the local BPS release. Red chili contributed 0.06 percentage points, while housing rent and laptops each contributed 0.02. The restaurant group contributed 0.03 points, with sate, martabak and pizza among its drivers. These local figures cannot be substituted for the national breakdown.

The practical implication is that location and spending mix matter. A renter buying prepared meals and a family cooking at home will not necessarily experience the same price changes. A national index is useful for tracking aggregate inflation, but it cannot establish how much either household’s own bill changed without their actual purchases.

For a household checking whether the pressure has eased, the relevant comparison is the cost of the same quantities of the same purchases over time, alongside income. The October index describes price changes; it does not measure whether a particular household can now afford more.