Indonesia's inflation rate is expected to drop in December due to weakening of pressure from energy and foods prices, the central bank senior official and an analyst said on Friday.

Indonesia inflation rate slowed to 11.68 percent in November due to weakening of prices of energy and foods.

Deputy Governor of the Indonesian's central bank Miranda S Goeltom said at the State Palace that the inflation in December would be lower than that of November.

The cutting of oil prices and the sufficiency of rice and other essential foods in the country have contributed on the weakening of inflation, said an analyst from Standard Chartered Eric Sugandi.

"The sufficiency of the food supply has contained pressure of demand ahead of Christmas and New Year," he told Xinhua.

However, the analyst said that economist still was not as optimistic central bank, due to the domination of the seasonal factors.

The government on December 1 slashed subsidized-gasoline price by 8. 3 percent to 5,500 rupiah (some US$0.51) per litter following the falling of the global oil price to below US$50 a barrel after a record high of about US$147 on July 11.

The fall of the global oil price could lead the government to reduce non-subsidized oil price for industry.

The deputy said that the central bank had also revised down its inflation target this year to more than 11 percent but still below the early target of 12 percent.

"The prediction may be at a little bit above eleven percent but far below 12 percent at the end of this year," Goeltom told reporters before a cabinet meeting.

With the falling of oil prices, the bank was optimistic that the inflation would end to its low bottom of target of 6.5 percent rather than up bottom of 7.5 percent at the end of next year.

Then government is to make another oil price cut in January. The pressure to cut oil price has mounted ahead of the presidential and legislative election in 2009.

(Xinhua News Agency December 13, 2008)