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Trade surplus shrinks in November as imports rise
Analysts attribute the rebound in imports to a seasonal increase in domestic demand.
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Maintaining grain: Workers unload rice imported from Thailand at Ujung Baru seaport in Medan Belawan, North Sumatra, on Sept. 6, 2023.
(Antara/Yudi)
Indonesia has achieved a trade surplus for a 43rd consecutive month despite a decline in exports and a rise in imports.
Statistics Indonesia (BPS) revealed that the country's trade surplus fell to US$2.41 billion in November, down from $3.47 billion in the preceding month. From January to November, the trade balance posted a $33.63 billion surplus, marking a 33.5 percent decrease from the same period of last year.
"This decline was caused by a drop in the surplus from non-oil and gas (NOG) commodities, along with a larger trade deficit in oil and gas," BPS official Pudji Ismartini said in a press briefing on Friday.
She added that coal, crude palm oil (CPO) as well as iron and steel continued to be Indonesia's top three export goods.
Irman Faiz, an economist at publicly listed lender Bank Danamon, said the latest trade figures confirmed his expectation of a narrowing surplus. He added that he maintained his forecast for a current account deficit at 0.4 percent of GDP for this year and anticipated an expansion to 1 percent of GDP in the coming year.
Details of the BPS report show that exports dropped 8.56 percent year-on-year (yoy) to $22 billion in November. The figure also marks a slight decrease from October's reading of $22.15 billion.
The drop comes even as the value of oil and gas exports rose by 16.43 percent to 1.28 billion, because NOG exports slid 9.76 percent to $20.72 billion.
