Indonesia: Trade deficit recorded in December
According to Statistics Indonesia (BPS), the country recorded a trade deficit of USD 270 million in December, its second deficit in two years and the first since the USD 275 million deficit logged in July 2017. The result went against market expectations of a USD 463 million surplus in December.
Exports increased 6.9% in December over the same month of the previous year, marking the lowest reading in six months, and significantly below the 13.5% growth recorded in the previous month. Year-on-year growth of imports moderated slightly from 19.2% in November to 17.8% in December.
Breaking down the reading, the slump in export growth was due to a slowdown in non-oil and gas shipments, from 13.2% growth in November to a 5.6% year-on-year increase in December. Oil and gas exports rose 20.8% annually, from 16.0% in November.
The 12-month moving sum of the trade balance contracted from November’s USD 13.2 billion surplus to a USD 11.8 billion surplus in December, the lowest reading since March 2017.