Indonesia posts US$454m trade surplus in April as imports tumble

[JAKARTA] Indonesia said on Friday it had a trade surplus of US$454 million in April, smaller than the revised US$1.03 billion surplus it reported for March.

Analysts in a Reuters poll had expected an April surplus of US$120 million.

April's imports were US$12.63 billion, down 22.31 per cent from a year earlier, worse than analysts' expectation for an 18.77 per cent contraction.

Meanwhile, exports in April fell 8.46 per cent to US$13.08 billion. A Reuters poll had forecast a 7 per cent decline from a year earlier.

Since December, Indonesia has posted monthly trade surpluses, as imports fell more than exports did. As a result, the recent trade performance has been an improvement from last year's deficit of US$1.89 billion and 2013's gap of US$4.08 billion.

REUTERS