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.
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