Indonesia's August Trade Surplus Narrowed as Exports Fell

By Yi Wei Wong

Indonesia's trade surplus narrowed in August as exports to most of its trading partners fell.

The country posted a trade surplus of $2.33 billion in August, according to official data released Tuesday, narrowing from July's $3.26 billion surplus.

A Wall Street Journal poll of analysts produced a median forecast for a trade surplus of $2.46 billion.

Indonesia's exports in August fell 8.4% compared with the same period a year earlier to $13.07 billion, while imports fell 24.2% to $10.74 billion.

Exports in August fell 4.6% from the previous month, as shipments of precious metals plunged. Imports grew 2.7% on month.

Exports to China, one of the country's largest trading partners, fell in August. Imports from China grew over the same period, led by iron and steel imports.

Indonesia recorded a trade surplus with America, India and the Philippines in August.

Southeast Asia's largest economy has been badly hit by Covid-19, suffering the steepest contraction in more than two decades in the second quarter. The rising number of Covid-19 cases in the country has resulted in Jakarta re-entering another period of large-scale social restrictions on Monday, for at least two weeks.

The finance minister forecast that the country's gross domestic product this year will range between a contraction of as much as 1.1% and growth of 0.2%. The economy grew 5.0% last year.

Write to Yi Wei Wong at [e-mail]