Indonesia books $5.76 billion trade surplus in Aug, above expectation
JAKARTA (Reuters) – Indonesia recorded a $5.76 billion trade surplus in August, the biggest in four months and larger than expected, as exports and imports beat forecast, official data showed on Thursday.
A Reuters poll had expected a surplus of $4.09 billion.
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The resource-rich country has reported a trade surplus every month since May 2020, with exports boosted by the upward cycle in commodity prices.
The August surplus was the biggest since April’s $7.56 billion, which was the country’s largest on record.
Exports rose 30.15% on a yearly basis in August to $27.91 billion, with shipments of oil and gas and mineral products recording the biggest increase, Statistics Indonesia data showed, against the poll’s forecast of 19.19% growth.
Imports were worth $22.15 billion, up 32.81% on a yearly basis, versus the poll’s 30.60% growth prediction.
(Reporting by Stefanno Sulaiman, Gayatri Suroyo and Fransiska Nangoy; Editing by Martin Petty)