-----Original Message----- JAKARTA, May 1 (Reuters) - Indonesia's consumer prices in April rose
6.29 percent from a year earlier, below expectations as rice prices stabilised, which could give the central bank room to cut interest rates next week. The rise compared with the median forecast in a Reuters poll for an increase of 6.54 percent and compared with March's annual rate of 6.52 percent. Analysts had expected rice imports to boost domestic supply of the grain and ease upward pressure on inflation after flooding earlier this year pushed the staple's price higher. Bank Indonesia left interest rates steady at 9 percent in April, halting a string of nine cuts in a row, but analysts said it could cut them at its next meeting on May 8 if it see signs that rice prices have stablised. ((Reporting by Adriana Nina Kusuma; Editing by Sugita Katyal; [EMAIL PROTECTED]; Reuters Messaging: [EMAIL PROTECTED]; +62 21 384 6364)) Keywords: INDONESIA ECONOMY/INFLATION
