International Trade Price Index: A Leading Indicator for Indonesia's Inflation?

Abstract

As one of essential indicators in economy, inflation rate can be determined by several factors. One of these factors is price index other than CPI, representing price change, other at consumer level. Many studies have examined the effect of price indices such as Producer Price Index (PPI) and Wholesale Price Index (WPI) on inflation, including in Indonesia. However, in an open economy, the level of openness, which can be approximated by International Trade Price Index (IHPI), may also influence changes in inflation. In Indonesia, no studies still examine the nexus between ITPI and inflationThis study aims to examine the effect of price indices variables other than at consumer level, particularly ITPI, on inflation and whether we can use it as one of the leading indicators of inflation in Indonesia. The analysis results of the ARDL-ECM model show that all price indices variables simultaneously influence inflation. However, the effect of each variable partially on inflation in the short and long run varies. The speed of adjustment to return to equilibrium is 4.67% per month after the shock happened. Nevertheless, the effect of ITPI on inflation is insignificant, both in the short and long run. Thus, we can conclude that ITPI is not yet able to be a leading indicator of inflation in Indonesia. However, the result of this study must be carefully concluded since the use of time series analysis depends on the lag length and the number of observations included.