JAKARTA- Indonesia’s trade surplus shrank more than expected in July to $1.31 billion, as imports contracted less than predicted, data from the statistics bureau showed on Tuesday.
A Reuters poll of economists had expected a July surplus of $2.53 billion. Trade surplus in the previous month was $3.46 billion.
Southeast Asia’s largest economy booked its biggest ever trade surplus last year as exports jumped, driven by a global commodity boom.
The surplus has narrowed this year as exports declined amid falling commodity prices.
Still, July was the 39th straight month that Indonesia has booked a trade surplus. The long run of monthly trade surplus has helped to stabilize the rupiah currency
“A still healthy run-rate for the trade surplus to date, bodes well for external balances, by extension being supportive of the rupiah, at a time when global uncertainties are weighing on the currency,” Radhika Rao, an economist with DBS Bank said.
The rupiah barely moved after the data. The currency hit a fresh five-month low against the US dollar on Tuesday on souring market sentiment due to China’s interest rate cut and rising US Treasury yields.
In July, shipments from Indonesia plunged 18.03 percent on a yearly basis to $20.88 billion, roughly in line with the poll’s prediction of an 18.30 percent drop, as prices of its top commodities like coal and palm oil fell.
Imports dropped 8.32 percent on a yearly basis to $19.57 billion, compared with the 15.50 percent fall predicted by economists in the poll.
