Indonesia's Jan trade surplus at $1.96 bln, bigger than expected

MACROECONOMICS - JAKARTA. Indonesia posted a bigger-than-expected $1.96 billion trade surplus in January as exports surged while imports remained weak amid measures to contain the spread of the coronavirus, data from the statistics bureau showed on Monday.

A Reuters poll had expected a $1.68 billion surplus.

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Exports rose 12.24% on a yearly basis to $15.30 billion, compared with the poll's forecast of a 13.59% increase, on rising shipments of the country's top commodities such as palm oil, coal and copper.

Imports were down 6.49% on a yearly basis to $13.34 billion, versus a 2.77% fall expected in the poll.