JAKARTA - Indonesia's trade balance in June 2019 posted a surplus of US$ 0.19 billion, after the previous month also posted a surplus US$ 0.22 billion. The trade balance surplus was mainly due to the improving oil and gas trade balance deficit, while the non-oil and gas trade balance surplus was stable. The improving oil and gas trade balance deficit was mainly due to a deeper decline in oil and gas imports compared to the decline in oil and gas exports. Meanwhile, a stable non-oil and gas trade balance surplus was affected by a decline in non-oil and gas exports, amid a decline in non-oil and gas imports.
The oil and gas trade balance recorded a deficit of 0.97 billion US dollars in June 2019, improving compared to the deficit in the previous month of US$ 1.05 billion. The improvement was supported by the decline in oil and gas imports from US$ 2.18 billion in May 2019 to US$ 1.71 billion in June 2019. The decline in oil and gas imports occurred in all components of both crude oil, oil and gas products. Meanwhile, oil and gas exports declined from US$ 1.14 billion to US$ 0.75 billion in June 2019. The decline mainly occurred in the gas export component in line with the decline in the volume and price of gas exports.
The June 2019 non-oil and gas trade balance experienced a surplus of US$ 1.16 billion, not much different compared to the condition of the previous month which recorded a surplus of US$ 1.26 billion. This condition was influenced by the decline in non-oil and gas exports, from US$ 13.69 billion in May 2019 to US$ 11.03 billion in June 2019. The decline mainly occurred in mineral fuel components, vehicles and parts, as well as animal / vegetable fats and oils. Meanwhile, non-oil and gas imports were recorded at US $ 9.87 billion in June 2019, a decrease of US $ 2.55 billion (mtm) compared to imports in the previous month. The decline in non-oil and gas imports mainly occurred in machinery / mechanical components, machinery and electrical equipment, as well as iron and steel.
Bank Indonesia considers the trade balance surplus in June 2019 to have a positive impact on the outlook for the 2019 current account, which is predicted to have a deficit in the range of 2.5%-3.0% of GDP. Going forward, Bank Indonesia and the Government will continue to coordinate closely with global and domestic economic developments so that they can maintain external stability, including the outlook for the trade balance and the current account balance. (LM)