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JAKARTA :Indonesia booked a $3.48 billion trade surplus last month, bigger than predicted, as exports and imports fell less than expected, data from the statistics bureau showed on Wednesday.
Shipments from Southeast Asia’s largest economy have been declining by value in recent months amid falling global commodity prices.
However, the resource-rich country has continued to post a trade surplus monthly as imports have also weakened.
Economists polled by Reuters had expected a trade surplus of $3 billion in October.
Exports in October were down 10.43 per cent on a yearly basis to $22.15 billion, compared with economists’ prediction of a 15.35 per cent drop.
Indonesia’s biggest export products are coal, palm oil and nickel metals.
Imports fell 2.42 per cent on a yearly basis to $18.67 billion, versus the poll’s expectation for a 7.40 per cent contraction.
While imports of raw materials shrank last month, overseas purchases of capital and consumer goods rose by 11.08 per cent and 3.83 per cent, respectively, cushioning the overall import drop.
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