Indonesia posts largest trade deficit in five years
Indonesia posted its widest monthly trade deficit in five years this November due to slumped exports, according to statistics firm Refinitiv on December 17.
Hanoi (VNA) – Indonesia posted its widest monthly tradedeficit in five years this November due to slumped exports, according to statisticsfirm Refinitiv on December 17.
The deficit in November was 2.05 billion USD, bigger than October’srevised deficit of 1.77 billion USD and the biggest trade gap since July 2013,according to Refinitiv data.
Previously, a Reuters poll had estimated the deficit at 830 million USD.
In November, Indonesia’s exports fell 3.28 percent year-on-year – theworst monthly performance since June 2017 – to hit 14.83 billion USD, mostlydue to falling shipments of crude and palm oil, jewellery, and paper and pulp.
Meanwhile, imports went up 11.68 percent to 16.88 billion USD, toppingthe toll’s 10.5 percent estimate, lower than theincrease of nearly 24 percent in October.
In recent months, Southeast Asia’s largest economy hasbeen struggling to contain imports. Some measures, including higher tariffs,have been imposed to curb imports, in a bid to reduce the trade gap and supportthe rupiah.–VNA
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The Ministry of Commerce reported that imports also rose 18% to 29.9 billion USD during the same period, resulting in a trade surplus of 1.1 billion USD. In May alone, Thailand posted a 4.6 billion USD trade surplus with the US and a 4.1 billion USD trade deficit with China.
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Illustrative image (Source: Internet) 
