Indonesia July trade surplus seen narrowing amid slowing global trade

The outbreak has driven down commodity prices and placed huge swathes of Chinese territory on lockdown, potentially disrupting purchasing demands in the US-China trade deal. Photo: AP. Sketched by the Pan Pacific Agency.

JAKARTA, Aug 12, 2022, Reuters. Indonesia’s trade surplus may have narrowed to $3.93 billion last month due to weakening export performance as global trade activity slows, according to economists polled by Reuters.

Southeast Asia’s biggest economy booked a larger-than-expected trade surplus of $5.09 billion in June on the back of palm oil exports resuming after a three-week ban was lifted in May. read more

The median forecast of 12 analysts in the poll was for exports to show growth of 29.73% on a yearly basis in July, down from June’s 40.68%.

July imports were seen rising 37.30% on an annual basis, compared with June’s 21.98% increase.

Bank Mandiri economist Faisal Rachman, who estimated July’s surplus at $3.85 billion, said export performance weakened amid slowing global trade activity and with the drop in coal and crude palm oil prices from a month earlier.

“Commodity prices continue to support export performance, yet the fear of global recession is a downward pressure on the prices,” he said, adding that imports have caught up with exports thanks to a recovering domestic economy.

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