Indonesia Logs in Trade Surplus of $3.46 Billion in Imports

Indonesia recorded a surprisingly large trade surplus of $3.46 billion in June, as imports plunged more than expected and exports also remained weak, official data showed on Monday, adding to the case for possible rate cuts before year-end.

A poll of economists had expected a surplus of $1.35 billion last month. The country recorded a surplus of around $440 million in May.

However, the resource-rich country's overall trade surplus in the first half of 2023 remained some $5 billion below last year's. Indonesia's January-June trade surplus stood at $19.93 billion, data from the statistics bureau showed.

Analysts expect the surplus in merchandise trade for Southeast Asia's largest economy to narrow this year as exports soften amid declining prices of its top commodities, including palm oil, coal and nickel, and weakening global demand.

Exports slumped 21.18 per cent on a yearly basis to $20.61 billion in June, deeper than the 18.85 per cent fall expected in the poll.

Shipments of coal and palm oil suffered the biggest drop.

Imports were down 18.35 per cent on a yearly basis to $17.15 billion, compared with the poll's forecast of 7.75 per cent contraction with purchases of raw materials falling the most.