Indonesia revises trade data schedule amid crucial US tariff window

[JAKARTA] Indonesia’s statistics agency has rescheduled the release of its monthly trade data, delaying the publishing of the April report, originally set for Thursday (May 15), to Jun 2.

The inflation and trade data will now be released together at the beginning of each month, instead of mid-month. This means the May trade figures will not be published until early July.

“This adjustment aims to improve data quality,” the agency said in a statement.

The announcement of the delay comes at a sensitive time. Indonesia is now within a critical 90-day window following the US decision to impose a 32 per cent reciprocal tariff on selected Indonesian products, a period during which timely trade data could prove crucial for assessing potential impacts and shaping policy responses.

However, David Sumual, chief economist at Bank Central Asia, said the revised release schedule is unlikely to have an immediate or significant impact on investor sentiment, even with the longer lag in trade data.

“At the moment, external factors are playing a bigger role in driving the market,” he told The Business Times.

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This isn’t the first time the agency has restructured its reporting cadence. In the past, trade data was released bi-monthly; then it was put out monthly in the interest of more precise economic tracking.

Indonesia’s trade surplus likely narrowed to around US$2.75 billion in April, said a Reuters poll, as both exports and imports continued to grow despite mounting concerns over the impact of the US’ trade policy.

The softer surplus follows a stronger-than-expected US$4.33 billion surplus in March, driven by robust shipments of palm oil and nickel, which were in turn bolstered by exporters rushing to get ahead of the implementation of new US tariffs.