Indonesia registers robust trade surplus

Employees cast ingots from molten tin at the PT Timah processing facility in Mentok, Indonesia. The country posted a robust trade surplus in November, data showed yesterday, in a sign of recovery in Southeast Asia’s biggest nation that was plunged into economic turmoil in 2013.

AFP/Jakarta

Indonesia posted a robust trade surplus in November, data showed yesterday, in a sign of recovery in Southeast Asia’s biggest nation that was plunged into economic turmoil last year.

Jakarta will welcome the news as it battles a deep current account deficit and poor trade performance, soaring inflation and a slump in the rupiah’s value.

The November trade surplus of $776.8mn, up from October’s modest $24.3mn surplus, is the country’s highest since April 2012, and marks a major upswing since a record deficit of $657.2mn in September.

Central Statistics Agency chief Suryamin, who goes by one name, said the recovery came thanks to an improvement in countries buying Indonesian exports, while the weak rupiah also made goods cheaper abroad.  But the overall trade balance for January to November 2013 is still in a substantial deficit of $5.6bn.

Manufacturing also improved, according to HSBC’s purchasing managers’ index, which rose to 50.9 in December from 50.3 in November, showing a rise in domestic demand. A reading above 50 indicates expansion.

Prices in 2013 rose 8.38% on-year in December, up slightly from 8.37% in November.

But inflation was almost double the 2012 rate of 4.30% and well above the central bank’s usual target range of 3.50-5.50%.

“Inflation was a result of an increase in food prices during Christmas and New Year, higher cooking gas prices and distribution costs brought about by a hike in the fuel price,” Suryamin said.

The rupiah lost 20% of its value against the US dollar in 2013 and is considered one of Asia’s most vulnerable currencies, pushed down by Indonesia’s current account deficit, which sat at 3.8% of GDP in the third quarter.

The government and central bank have moved to shore up the economy in recent months, especially as the US Federal Reserve scales back its monetary stimulus programme, which has led to an outflow of cash back to the West.  Indonesia has enjoyed a prolonged boom in recent years, clocking up annual growth of more than 6%, but analysts predict 2013 growth figures will be at the lowest in four years.