Indonesia Records USD $430 Million Trade Deficit in January 2014
After recording three months of consecutive trade surpluses at the end of 2013, Indonesia's trade balance slipped back into deficit in January 2014. Indonesia - Southeast Asia's largest economy - posted a USD $430.6 million deficit in the first month of 2014. Exports fell 5.79 percent (year-on-year) to USD $14.48 billion, while imports fell 3.46 percent to USD $14.92 billion. The decline in exports were caused by the implementation of the ban on raw minerals (per 12 January 2014). Mineral ore exports fell over 70 percent (month-to-month).
In December 2013, Indonesia had posted an unexpectedly large surplus of USD $1.52 billion because miners increased exports of unprocessed minerals ahead of the export ban. This then managed to ease the current account deficit to 1.98 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) in the fourth quarter of 2013. This deficit had been a major concern of international investors as it hit a record high of USD $9.9 billion (or 4.4 percent of GDP) in the second quarter of 2013. Amid the looming ending of the Federal Reserve's quantitative easing program, it resulted in large capital outflows from Indonesia. The January 2014 trade data were thus important indicators to measure the true state of Indonesia's trade balance.
View Statistics Indonesia's January 2014 Trade Statistics
Indonesia's Trade Balance 2014 (in billion US Dollar):
| 2014 | Export | Import | ||||
| Month | Oil & Gas | Non Oil & Gas | Total | Oil & Gas |
Non Oil & Gas | Total |
| January | 2,50 | 11,99 | 14,48 | 3,56 | 11,36 | 14,92 |
Indonesia's Trade Balance 2013 (in billion US Dollar):
| 2013 | Export | Import | ||||
| Month | Oil & Gas | Non Oil & Gas | Total | Oil & Gas |
Non Oil & Gas | Total |
| January | 2,66 | 12,72 | 15,38 | 3,97 | 11,48 | 15,45 |
| February | 2,57 | 12,45 | 15,02 | 3,64 | 11,67 | 15,31 |
| March | 2,93 | 12,09 | 15,02 | 3,90 | 10,99 | 14,89 |
| April | 2,45 | 12,31 | 14,76 | 3,63 | 12,83 | 16,46 |
| May | 2,92 | 13,21 | 16,13 | 3,43 | 13,23 | 16,66 |
| June | 2,80 | 11,96 | 14,76 | 3,53 | 12,11 | 15,64 |
| July | 2,28 | 12,81 | 15,09 | 4,14 | 13,28 | 17,42 |
| August | 2,72 | 10,36 | 13,08 | 3,67 | 9,34 | 13,01 |
| September | 2,41 | 12,29 | 14,70 | 3,72 | 11,79 | 15,51 |
| October | 2,72 | 12,99 | 15,70 | 3,47 | 12,20 | 15,67 |
| November | 2,77 | 13,17 | 15,94 | 3,70 | 11,21 | 15,15 |
| December | 3,41 | 13,58 | 16,98 | 4,22 | 11,24 | 15,46 |
| Jan-Dec | 32,63 | 149,93 | 182,57 | 45,27 | 141,36 | 186,36 |
Source: Statistics Indonesia