JAKARTA, May 2 Reuters Indonesia39;s annual inflation rate cooled slightly in April as pressure from some food prices eased as the harvest season began, the country39;s statistics bureau said on Thursday, staying within the central bank39;s 1.5 to 3.5 target range.

The Consumer Price Index rose 3.00 on a yearly basis in April, compared with the 3.06 forecast by economists polled by Reuters and March39;s 3.05.

The annual core inflation rate, which strips out volatile food prices and prices controlled by the government, accelerated slightly to 1.82 in April, from 1.77 in March.

Volatile food inflation was recorded at 9.63 last month, down from 10.33 the previous month, with rice stocks improving at the start of harvest season.

The bureau said prices of rice, chillies and eggs declined on a monthly basis.

Inflation in Southeast Asia39;s largest economy has been within Bank Indonesia39;s BI target range since mid2023, but the central bank last week raised its policy rates to support the rupiah currency amid global uncertainty about the timing of any U.S. monetary easing and wars in Ukraine and the Gaza Strip.

The rupiah , which has fallen to fouryear lows against the dollar on the riskoff sentiment in markets, strengthened slightly after the data was released. The currency has been trading around 16,200 per dollar since the middle of April.

Myrdal Gunarto, an economist with Maybank Indonesia, said price pressures should continue to gradually decrease, as household…