By Yi Wei Wong
Indonesia's economy contracted in the third quarter though there was an improvement from the quarter before as curbs to contain Covid-19 were eased.
The country's gross domestic product fell 3.49% compared with the same period a year earlier, the official Central Statistics Agency said on Thursday. The reading was worse compared with a median forecast for a 2.98% contraction from a Wall Street Journal poll of eight economists. The economy contracted 5.32% in the second quarter.
"The global economy has improved in the third quarter compared with the second. Several of Indonesia's trading partners experienced economic contractions, although not as deep as in the second quarter," said Suhariyanto, chairman of the statistics agency. China, one of the country's largest trading partners, showed a gradual economic recovery in the third quarter, he noted.
Compared with the quarter before, Indonesia economy expanded 5.05% after a 4.19% contraction in the second quarter. The improvement from the second quarter was widely expected by economists as partial lockdowns to stem the spread of the coronavirus eased in parts of the country.
Indonesia remains the country worst hit by Covid-19 in Southeast Asia, with 421,731 reported cases and 14,259 deaths. Borders remain largely closed.
Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati indicated recently that she expects the economy to contract between 0.6% and 1.7% this year. Indonesia's economy grew 5.0% last year.
Write to Yi Wei Wong at yiwei.wong@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
11-04-20 2353ET
