JAKARTA. The trade balance of September 2019, which was initially projected to experience a surplus of US$ 124 million, but in reality, the trade balance actually experienced a deficit due to higher import activity than exports.
Mangesti Diah Sulistiani, an analyst of Mirae Asset Sekuritas, said that the US$ 160.5 million deficit experienced in September could still be a positive signal for the 2019 Current Account Deficit (CAD). The reason, said Sulistiani, was the cumulative deficit of the first nine months (9M) of 2019 reached US$ 1.9 billion. This is lower than the cumulative deficit of 9M 2018 which reached US$ 3.7 billion.
"However, the risk for a widening CAD remains," Sulistiani said on Thursday (17/10) today. "Given the ongoing trade tension and falling commodity prices," he added.
The increase in non-oil and gas imports in September 2019 was triggered by imports of cereal products. On the other hand, sugar imports in this period dropped significantly. (KR/AR)