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Domestic spending carries RI GDP through weak global economy
Buoyed by elevated domestic consumption during the Islamic festive season and the presidential election, Indonesia’s economy again exceeded expectations with GDP growth of 5.11 percent in the first quarter.
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Employees of a T-shirt printing company pack customer orders to be shipped on Dec. 12, 2023, at Senen Market in Central Jakarta. Several traders said their sales increased threefold ahead of the February 2024 election. (Antara/Mario Sofia Nasution)
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uoyed by elevated domestic consumption during the Islamic festive season and the presidential election, Indonesia’s economy again exceeded market expectations as it posted gross domestic product (GDP) growth of 5.11 percent year-on-year (yoy) in the first quarter.
Finance Minister Sri Mulyani said in a press statement released on Monday that the quality of economic growth was “increasing significantly”, given that the unemployment rate had dropped below the pre-pandemic level.
“Amid global uncertainty, Indonesia’s economy continued to show resilience,” the minister said following the publication of the GDP report, before promising that the government would make use of the state budget to maintain economic stability and push growth higher.
Her statement claimed that household spending was mainly driven by low inflation and increased economic activity during Ramadan, as well as by Idul Fitri bonuses and civil servant pay raises.
The economic growth figure marks an increase from the 5.04 percent logged in the fourth quarter of 2023 as well as in the first quarter of 2023.
It also came in higher than the 4.9 percent forecast from Moody’s Analytics and a 5 percent consensus forecast from economists polled by Reuters.
