The Today's Headlines section of Indonesia Investments is a regularly updated section which contains the latest information with regard to topics that are currently causing headlines in Indonesia's media. Most of our headlines cover political, economic and social matters. As a consequence of their recent nature, these topics may not have crystallized fully yet and can, therefore, lack a profound analysis. For publications with a more in-depth understanding of subjects, we refer you to our News, Financial or Business columns.
In many supermarkets, shops, and places of worship across Indonesia you can now find antibacterial hand wash bottles near the cashier or entrance that can be used for free by the people.
As expected, Indonesia experienced a weak start of the year in terms of its manufacturing activity. The IHS Markit Indonesia Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (or PMI) was recorded at 49.3 in December 2019 (remaining stubbornly below the 50.0 level that separates contraction from expansion in the manufacturing sector). The latest PMI figure is also a slight decline from 49.5 in the preceding month.
In the first month of 2020, Indonesian inflation was slightly lower than we had expected. Indonesia inflation was recorded at 0.39 percent month-on-month (m/m) in January 2020.
The trade balance of Indonesia showed a relatively small deficit in the last month of 2019. Based on the latest data from Statistics Indonesia (Badan Pusat Statistik, or BPS), a USD $28.2 million trade deficit was recorded in December 2019, much smaller than analysts had predicted.
