Indonesia’s exports, imports beat forecasts, trade surplus less than expected

By Stefanno Sulaiman and Gayatri Suroyo

JAKARTA (Reuters) -Indonesia reported stronger-than-expected export and import growth in October, amid strong agriculture shipments, official data showed on Friday.

However, its trade surplus shrank to a three-month low of $2.47 billion. A Reuters poll of analysts had expected a surplus of $3.05 billion versus a revised $3.23 billion in September.

The October trade data will be among a host of economic indicators the central bank will review to determine its monetary policy stance at a meeting next week.

Exports from resource-rich Indonesia have recently recovered from a period when export values fell sharply due to declining global commodity prices.

Statistics Indonesia, which provided the trade data, said global prices for some of the country’s commodities have since recovered, such as prices of agricultural, metal and mineral products, but energy prices were still below last year’s.

Indonesia is a major exporter of palm oil, coal, nickel, tin and , among other resources.

In October, exports rose 10.25% from a year earlier to $24.41 billion, far above a forecast rise of 3.84% in the Reuters poll. The pace of growth was the fastest since January, 2023.

Palm oil shipments rose an annual 25.35% in October to $2.37 billion, as export volumes and prices both increased. Palm oil prices have been propped by Indonesia’s ambitious biofuel plan for 2025.

There have also been a jump in the value of cocoa shipments so far this year amid an increase in international cocoa prices.

Meanwhile, imports surged 17.49% on a yearly basis to $21.94 billion, the fastest pace since September 2022. The poll had predicted 7.10% growth.

Imports of raw materials for industries rose 18.48% last month from a year earlier.