On 11 September 2019, Bacharuddin Jusuf (B.J.) Habibie passed away at the respectable age of 83 at the Gatot Subroto Army Hospital in Central Jakarta. By the end of his life B.J. Habibie had become a true statesman, respected across Indonesia, and therefore the central government immediately declared three days of national mourning shortly after his passing. This means that the Indonesian flag (merah-putih) is positioned at half-mast during the three days following his death (12-15 September 2019).

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Indonesia’s trade balance swung back into a deficit in July 2019 as the country’s exports could not compensate for its imports. However, at USD $63 million, the monthly deficit is not too big (compared to the USD $2.3 billion and USD $1.1 billion deficits that were recorded in April and January, respectively).

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After the ‘false start’ in the third quarter of 2019 when, in July, Indonesia’s manufacturing conditions contracted for the first time since January 2019, there is again some bad news to share. In August 2019 manufacturing conditions in Southeast Asia’s largest economy continued to contract, and even at a more rapid pace than last month.

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In line with expectations, Indonesia’s inflation rate accelerated in August 2019. While the month of August normally brings mild deflation to Southeast Asia’s largest economy in the aftermath of the Ramadan and Idul Fitri celebrations (a period when demand for food and transportation peaks), Statistics Indonesia (BPS) announced that Indonesia’s monthly inflation in August was recorded at 0.12 percent month-to-month (m/m).

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