Indonesia Feb trade surplus at $5.48 billion, beats forecast
2023.03.15 01:03
© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: A tug boat is seen docking at Tanjung Priok Port in Jakarta, Indonesia, January 11, 2021. Picture taken January 11, 2021. REUTERS/Willy Kurniawan
JAKARTA (Reuters) – Indonesia reported a larger than forecast trade balance in February at $5.48 billion, boosted by an unexpected drop in imports, data from the country’s statistics bureau showed on Wednesday.
Analysts polled by Reuters had expected a $3.27 billion trade surplus.
Exports in February rose 4.51% annually to $21.40 billion, slightly lower than a 5.00% growth expected by analysts and after a 16.37% increase in January.
Imports fell by 4.32% annually to $15.92 billion due to a drop in purchases of raw materials, Statistics Indonesia said. A Reuters poll had forecast a 9.74% increase in shipments.