Indonesian Government Expects Trade Deficit to Ease to USD $4 Billion
Indonesia's trade deficit is expected to amount to USD $4 billion by the end of 2013, implying a moderation from the USD $5.54 billion deficit that emerged between January and August 2013. Indonesia's exports are forecast to decline by about 5 percent in the remainder of 2013 due to the weak global environment, particularly with the current ongoing political uncertainties in the USA. As such, in order to combat the deficit, the government intends to limit imports. Next year, Indonesia will most likely continue to post a trade deficit.
Despite the current USD $5.54 billion deficit (between January and August 2013), the month August showed an encouraging development. Earlier this week, Statistics Indonesia announced that in August 2013 Indonesia recorded a USD $132.4 million surplus. According to Trade minister Gita Wirjawan, the surplus was caused by significantly falling imports. Imports in August declined by 25.5 percent, while exports fell by 12.8 percent compared to the previous month.
The USD $5.54 billion deficit (January-August) is caused by a trade deficit in the country's oil & gas sector of USD $8.52 billion, while there is a trade surplus in the non oil & gas sector of USD $2.98 billion.