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Swelling oil imports eat into RI trade surplus
Despite the increased shipments of petroleum products to meet rising domestic demand, Indonesia still posted a trade surplus in June, the 50th in a row.
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Shipping activities are pictured at Tanjung Priok Port in North Jakarta on on May 20, 2024. (Antara/Dhemas Reviyanto)
I
ndonesia’s exports once again exceeded imports last month, but the country’s trade surplus would have been significantly higher had it not been for the vast increase in oil imports over the past year.
Interim Statistics Indonesia (BPS) head Amalia Adininggar Widyasanti announced at a press conference on Monday that June marked the “50th consecutive month” of surplus trade as exports worth US$20.84 billion surpassed $18.45 billion in imports.
While that made for a positive trade balance, the surplus of $2.39 billion was the lowest in four months.
It was particularly a 19 percent monthly increase in oil imports that ate into Indonesia’s trade surplus in June. The value of oil imports last month was up 47 percent year-on-year (yoy) on the back of higher volumes and prices.
When excluding oil and gas products, the trade surplus would have increased in June from the preceding month.
The country imported $3.27 billion worth of oil and oil derivatives in June, significantly higher than $2.75 billion in the preceding month and $2.22 billion in June last year.
BPS told The Jakarta Post on Monday that the monthly increase was due to a 36.6 percent surge in import volumes, while the annual rise was mostly attributable to higher prices.
