Indonesia Books Preliminary $4.9 Billion Trade Surplus in May, Finance Minister Says

TRADE BALANCE - JAKARTA. Indonesia posted a trade surplus of $4.9 billion in May based on preliminary customs data, the finance minister said on Tuesday, which would be the country's biggest monthly surplus in more than two years. Exports from the resource-rich country reached $25.3 billion, while imports were $20.4 billion, Sri Mulyani Indrawati told a press conference.

Statistics Indonesia is due to release final data on July 1. If the figures don't change, the May surplus would be the widest since February 2023, based on LSEG data. April's surplus was $160 million.

Sri Mulyani said while the trade figures looked good, trade tensions and slowing global growth have influenced exports and would also affect growth in Southeast Asia's biggest economy.

Strong growth was seen in May exports of agricultural products and manufactured goods, but there was also a steep drop in shipments of mining products, which hurt government revenues, Sri Mulyani said.

Indonesia ran a budget deficit of 21 trillion rupiah ($1.29 billion) in the first five months of 2025, equal to 0.09% of GDP, the ministry data showed.

Revenues in the January-May period reached 995.3 trillion rupiah, while total spending stood at 1,016.3 trillion rupiah. That compares with a deficit of 0.1% of GDP in the same period of 2024, with revenues at 1,123.5 trillion rupiah and spending at 1,145.3 trillion rupiah.