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BPS: Indonesia Posts USD1.72bn Trade Surplus in August
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta – The Central Statistics Agency (BPS) reports that Indonesia posted a trade surplus of USD1.72 billion in August 2017. It was the highest figure since November 2011 at US$1.8 billion.
The trade surplus was achieved owing to increased exports and dipping imports. Total exports last month stood at US$15.21 billion or increased by 11.73 percent (mom), whereas total imports reached US$13.49 billion or dropped by 2.88 percent (mom).
“The surplus was attributable to a surplus of the non-oil and gas sector of US$2.41 billion,” the BPS chief Suhariyanto said on September 15 in Jakarta. Conversely, oil and gas sector saw a deficit of US$0.68 billion.
Non-oil and gas exports in August 2017 reached US$13.93 billion or rose by 11.93 percent on a month-on-month basis. The figure also represents a 19.94 percent increase compared to August 2016.
Meanwhile, non-oil and gas imports hit US$11.53 billion or slipped 4.80 percent (mom). On a year-on-year basis, it increased by 8.85 percent.
Oil and gas exports in August 2017 increased 9.61 percent on a month-on-month basis from US$1.16 billion to US$1.2 billion, whereas oil and gas imports stood at US$180.8 million or increased by 10.16 percent (mom).
As for trade balance in terms of volume, Indonesia posted a surplus of 33.50 tons in August 2017. The BPS said that a trade surplus of non-oil and gas sector helped achieved the surplus. Meanwhile, the oil and gas sector posted a deficit of 0.72 tons.
Throughout January to August 2017, Indonesia posted a trade surplus of US$9.11 billion. The period saw total exports of US$108.79 billion and imports of US$99.68 billion. The BPS reports that total exports rose by 17.58 percent yoy from US$92.5 billion, whereas imports increased from US$87.4 billion in the same period last year.
Source: https://en.tempo.co/read/news/2017/09/15/056909409/BPS-Indonesia-Posts-USD172bn-Trade-Surplus-in-August