Indonesia exports, imports rise for third month in December

[JAKARTA] Indonesia's exports and imports rose on an annual basis for a third straight month in December, but at a slower pace than in November, the statistics bureau said on Monday.

Exports grew 15.57 per cent from a year earlier to US$13.77 billion in December, the bureau said. A Reuters poll had forecast 13.27 per cent growth.

December export earnings were the highest in 24 months, the bureau said.

Imports rose 5.82 per cent on an annual basis to US$12.78 billion. The poll had expected an increase of 3.50 per cent.

The December trade surplus was around US$990 million, bigger than the revised US$830 million in November.

Indonesia's trade surplus for the whole of 2016 was US$8.8 billion, compared with a surplus of US$7.7 billion in 2015.

Total exports were US$144.4 billion, down 3.95 per cent compared with 2015, while imports fell 4.94 per cent to US$135.7 billion.

REUTERS