Indonesia Imports
Merchandise exports drop in July
Merchandise exports dived 18.0% in annual terms in July, following June’s 21.2% dive. Meanwhile, merchandise imports decreased 8.3% over the same month last year in July (June: -18.3% yoy).
As a result, the merchandise trade balance deteriorated from the previous month, recording a USD 1.3 billion surplus in July (June 2023: USD 3.5 billion surplus; July 2022: USD 4.1 billion surplus). Lastly, the trend pointed down, with the 12-month trailing merchandise trade balance recording a USD 46.6 billion surplus in July, compared to the USD 49.4 billion surplus in June.
On the implications of July’s reading, ING analyst Nicholas Mapa commented:
“The continued narrowing of the trade surplus for Indonesia points to a fading key support for the rupiah, which enjoyed a boost in 2022 when the trade surplus hit a record high of $7.5bn. This development could be telling for the IDR, which has been under pressure of late and down roughly 1.5% for the month of August. Indonesia recently asked exporters to retain a portion of export receipts onshore to help improve dollar liquidity, a potential counter to the narrowing trade surplus.”
Indonesia Imports Chart
This chart displays Imports (USD billion) for Indonesia from 2013 to 2022.
Indonesia Imports Data
2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Merchandise Imports (USD bn) | 181 | 165 | 135 | 189 | 230 |
Imports (G&S, ann. var. %) | 12.1 | -7.1 | -17.6 | 24.9 | 14.7 |
Merchandise Imports (ann. var. %) | 20.6 | -8.8 | -18.1 | 39.9 | 21.6 |