Indonesia Records Trade Deficit of USD $657.2 Million in September 2013
Indonesia's trade surplus in August 2013 was not continued into September. Today (01/11), Statistics Indonesia announced that the country experienced a trade deficit of USD $657.2 million in September 2013. Exports in September fell 6.85 percent year-on-year (yoy) to USD $14.81 billion, while imports rose 0.77 percent (yoy) to USD $15.47 billion. During January-September 2013, total exports amounted to USD $134.05 billion, while total imports amounted to USD $140.31 billion. This means that the current trade deficit stands at USD $6.26 billion.
Indonesian Export-Import September 2013:
| Export | USD Billion |
| Total | 14.81 |
| Oil & Gas | 2.52 |
| Non-Oil & Gas | 12.29 |
| Import | USD Billion |
| Total | 15.47 |
| Oil & Gas | 3.67 |
| Non-Oil & Gas | 11.80 |
Source: Statistics Indonesia
From the table above, it can be concluded that Indonesia's trade deficit is caused by the deficit in Indonesia's oil and gas sector. Regarding the non-oil and gas sector, Indonesia posted a trade surplus of USD $490 million in September 2013. However, despite the ongoing deficit in the country's oil and gas sector, Suryamin (Head of Statistics Indonesia) said that import of oil in September declined 8.87 percent compared to the previous month. This is the result of the government's decision to raise prices of subsidized fuels in June 2013.