The FINANCIAL — Indonesia’s trade surplus swelled to $950 million in May from $454 million in April as imports tumbled in Southeast Asia’s largest economy, the official statistics agency said on June 15, according to Nasdaq.
A Wall Street Journal survey of eight economists had showed a median forecast for a surplus of $650 million amid declining imports and exports.
Indonesia has posted a trade surplus for six straight months, a welcome development as the country tries to plug a current-account deficit. The nation, however, is also facing weaker consumption as it struggles with its lowest economic growth in more than five years.
Indonesia’s exports were $12.56 billion in May, falling 4.11% from a month earlier. Total exports declined 15.24% from a year earlier.
Imports fell 8.05% sequentially to $11.61 billion. From a year earlier, total imports dropped 21.40%.
The country, with a nearly $900 billion economy, has recorded a deficit in its current account in the past three years amid faltering growth in China, the largest buyer of Indonesian coal and minerals.
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