JAKARTA- Indonesia’s trade surplus likely narrowed last month, as prices of coal, one of its top commodities, eased, while imports rose ahead of year-end festivities, a Reuters poll of anaysts showed on Tuesday.
The median forecast for November’s trade surplus in the poll was $4.45 billion, among Indonesia’s biggest-ever monthly surpluses, driven by a commodity upcycle, but it was seen shrinking from October’s record $5.74 billion.
Analysts expected November’s export growth to have decelerated to 44 percent, from 53.35 percent in the previous month. Imports were seen growing 37.55 percent, compared with October’s 51.06 percent.
Bank Mandiri economist Faisal Rachman, who predicted a $4.4 billion surplus in November, said Indonesia has a chance of recording a 0.1 percent of GDP current account surplus this year due to strong exports.
