Trade balance stays positive with $738.3m surplus

JAKARTA. Indonesia's trade balance remained in positive territory in February posting a surplus of US$738.3 million.

The surplus, which was bigger than the $709.4 million recorded in January, was largely driven by shrinking imports.

Monthly exports dropped by 16.02 percent to $12.29 billion from the same month last year on the back of lower shipments of both oil and gas and non oil and gas, such as palm oil and coal, the Central Statistics Agency (BPS) announced on Monday.

Imports slid by 16.24 percent to $11.55 billion on a yearly basis, primarily due to fewer purchases of non oil and gas commodities, which were down 6.34 percent to $9.32 billion.

The surplus will be positive for Indonesia which in recent years has struggled to curb its trade deficit, which has caused a marked deficit in its current account and put pressure on the rupiah. (Linda Yulisman)