Indonesia posts wider trade deficit

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JAKARTA- Indonesia’s trade gap widened sharply in January as falling metals prices weighed on exports, data from the statistics bureau showed on Monday.

Southeast Asia’s largest economy had a trade deficit of $870 million in the first month of 2020, compared with a $270 million deficit expected in a Reuters poll and a revised deficit of $61.70 million in December.

Exports by value fell 3.71 percent in January from a year earlier to $13.41 billion, compared with a forecast rise of 1.19 percent.

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Volatile prices of commodities such as copper and tin last month affected Indonesian trade, Suhariyanto, head of the statistics bureau told reporters. The stoppage of nickel ore exports was also a factor, he added.

January imports totaled $14.28 billion, down 4.78 percent from a year earlier. The poll had expected a 5.66 percent decline no-year.

Indonesia’s current account deficit widened in the fourth quarter, data from the central bank showed last week.

Southeast Asia’s largest economy booked a $8.1 billion current account deficit in October-December, equivalent to 2.84 percent of gross domestic product (GDP), from a 2.7 percent gap in the previous quarter, Bank Indonesia said.

The balance of payments, representing all transactions with foreign counterparts, swung to a $4.3 billion surplus in the fourth quarter, compared with $46 million deficit in the previous three months.

The current account deficit for all of 2019 was equal to 2.72 percent of GDP. There was a surplus of $4.7 billion for the full-year balance of payments. — Reuters

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