Indonesia’s trade deficit narrowed to 2.9 billion USD in July –
September period from 3.1 billion USD in the second quarter as the
country’s imports slowed due to weaker domestic demand and a weakening
rupiah.
According to the Central Statistics Agency (BPS), the
deficit of 2.3 billion USD in July swung to 660 million USD in
September.
However, the agency noted that an improvement in
the current account deficit may not be as immediate as many expected and
that the economy may not be able to fend off shocks in the global
financial market.
The current account deficit of 9.8 billion
USD was forecast to fall to 8 billion USD in the third quarter. During
the period, the country’s exports dropped 6.7 percent to 43 billion USD
year-on-year but were down 5.8 percent from the second quarter.
Imports rose 1 percent to 46 billion USD in the third quarter from a
year earlier but were down 5.9 percent from the April-June period.
The country’s central bank plans to keep its interest rate at 7.5 percent throughout this year.-VNA