Indonesia swings to small trade deficit in July

[JAKARTA] Indonesia posted a smaller-than-expected trade deficit in July after two months of surpluses, data from the country's statistics bureau showed on Thursday.

South-east Asia's largest economy had a US$63.5 million deficit in July, the bureau said, compared with a trade surplus of US$297.3 million in June. A Reuters poll of economists had forecast a US$420 million deficit for July.

The pace of contraction in July exports slowed to 5.12 per cent on-year, from about 9 per cent the previous month and was less than the 11.4 per cent expected in the poll. That brought July's export value to US$15.45 billion.

Oil and gas exports were up 13.35 per cent on an annual basis, cushioning the drop in shipments of manufactured and mining goods.

Meanwhile, imports were down 15.21 per cent on-year to US$15.51 billion, versus the poll's 18.12 per cent decline.

The resource-rich country has seen its exports and imports falling on an annual basis in recent months, in line with softer global trade amid the US-China trade war, except in June, when imports ticked up slightly.

REUTERS