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Indonesia books $1.72b trade surplus in August
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Central Statistics Agency (BPS) head Suhariyanto announces the latest external trade figures on Sept. 15. Indonesia's trade balance books the highest surplus in nearly six years in August. (Prima Wirayani/JP)
I
ndonesia's trade balance posted the highest surplus in nearly six years in August as exports picked up on the back of rebounding commodity prices.
The surplus stood at US$1.72 billion in August, the largest since November 2011, the Central Statistics Agency (BPS) announced on Friday.
Exports were valued at $15.21 billion in August, up significantly by 19.24 percent year-on-year and 11.73 percent month-on-month.
BPS head Suhariyanto attributed the marked increase to the rebound in prices for key commodities such as coal, palm oil, palm kernel oil, rubber, copper and nickel.
Imports, however, declined by 8.89 percent on a yearly basis and 2.88 percent on a monthly basis to $13.49 billion.
Read also: Indonesia's trade surplus up by 23.6 percent in May
The domestic manufacturing industry accounted for nearly 76 percent of total exports in August, followed by the mining sector with 13.1 percent, the oil and gas sector with 8.4 percent and the agricultural sector with 2.51 percent.
Almost two thirds of the imports, meanwhile, comprised raw materials and intermediary inputs, followed by capital goods and consumption goods at 16.48 percent and 8.87 percent, respectively.
The August surplus brings the overall surplus in the first eight months of this year to $9.11 billion. (lnd)
