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Ever since the very start of the global COVID-19 crisis in early 2020, Indonesia has been recording a series of big trade surpluses each month. On the one hand, it is a welcome surprise as big monthly trade surpluses relieve pressures on Indonesia’s current account balance and rupiah exchange rate.
Based on the latest data from Indonesia’s Statistical Agency (Badan Pusat Statistik, BPS), which were released on 16 November 2020, Indonesia recorded an impressive USD $3.61 billion trade surplus in October 2020. The surplus is at a level we had not seen since the final stages of the 2000s commodities boom (late-2011 to be exact).
Indonesia recorded a big trade surplus in May 2020. Based on the latest data from Indonesia’s Statistical Agency (BPS), the country posted a trade surplus worth USD $2.09 billion in May 2020, one of the highest monthly surpluses in recent years. But is it reason to become excited?
After two months of trade surpluses in February and March 2020, Indonesia’s trade balance swung back to a deficit in the following month. According to the latest data from Statistics Indonesia (BPS), Indonesia experienced a USD $344.7 million trade deficit in April 2020.
Last month we basically came to the conclusion that the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) crisis has a direct (short-term) positive effect on Indonesia’s trade performance (although the longer term consequences are clearly negative) as Indonesia managed to boost exports (possibly because it filled the gap left by China’s lockdown), while imports into Indonesia fell markedly (partly because of the lower need for inputs for export-oriented output), thus leading to a comfortable trade surplus.
Amid the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) crisis, Indonesia managed to post a strong trade surplus in February 2020. Based on the latest data released by Statistics Indonesia (BPS), Indonesia recorded a USD $2.33 trade surplus. It was the largest monthly trade surplus for Southeast Asia’s largest economy since September 2011.
The trade balance of Indonesia showed a relatively small deficit in the last month of 2019. Based on the latest data from Statistics Indonesia (Badan Pusat Statistik, or BPS), a USD $28.2 million trade deficit was recorded in December 2019, much smaller than analysts had predicted.
Indonesia’s trade balance swung back into a surplus in October 2019. Statistics Indonesia (BPS), which released the country’s latest trade data on 15 November 2019, reported a USD $161 million trade surplus for Indonesia in October. It is an improvement from the USD $164 million trade deficit the country had experienced in the preceding month, and a huge improvement from the USD $1.76 billion trade deficit in the same month one year earlier (October 2018).
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).
After the massive USD $2.29 billion trade deficit in April 2019 (which was the biggest monthly trade deficit in six years), Indonesia managed to turn the balance into a USD $206.7 million surplus in May 2019. Albeit small, Indonesian policymakers must have been relieved seeing the surplus as previously there were mixed opinions whether Indonesia would record a surplus or deficit in May.
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Worldwide, most stock indices fell on Wednesday (07/08), particularly Japan's Nikkei index, after it has been speculated that the Federal Reserve may phase out the third round of its quantitative easing program in September 2013. This program, involving a monthly USD $85 billion bond-buying package, aims to spur US economic growth while keeping interest rates low. However, one important side effect has been rising stock markets around the globe. Now the end of QE3 is in sight, investors shy away from riskier assets.
Indonesia's production of crude palm oil (CPO) in the first six months of 2013 rose 25.64 percent compared to semester I-2012 to 14.7 million tons, which is a little over half of this year's CPO production target. Despite weak global demand for the commodity (accompanied by falling CPO prices), growth was accomplished due to new seeds that became productive and because the total size of Indonesian palm oil estates continues to expand. Productive estates now stand at 9.4 million hectares from 8.7 million hectares last year.
Last week (22-26 July 2013), Indonesia's main stock index (IHSG) ended 1.39 percent down at 4,658.87. The daily value of transactions on the regular market narrowed to an average of IDR 3 trillion (USD $300 million) from IDR 3.84 trillion in the previous week. Foreigners still recorded net sales amounting to IDR 92.9 billion (USD $9.3 million). Lack of positive sentiments, financial results of companies that were below expectation and the continued weakening of the rupiah against the US dollar resulted in the decline of the index.
Indonesian exports of crude palm oil (CPO) in June 2013 grew about 29 percent to 1.62 million ton compared to the same month last year. Although production of CPO in Indonesia slowed down in June, higher demand for Indonesia's CPO is met because there are still sufficient amounts of stockpiles. A high official at the Indonesian Palm Oil Association (Gapki) said that stockpiles in 2012 grew to 5 million tons as global demand for the commodity weakened sharply amid international economic turmoil.
The recovery in global palm oil prices that seemed to have started last spring, has ended. A few months ago, optimism had colored expectations of many analysts as palm oil prices went up about 10 percent between early May and mid-June, after tumbling 30 percent in 2012 (causing that palm oil was one of the worst performing commodities in terms of price growth last year). However, the palm oil price increase earlier this year was merely the result of falling production rates in Indonesia and Malaysia, the world's largest palm oil producers.
The World Bank has revised down its forecast for economic growth in Indonesia in 2013 to 5.9 percent from its original estimate of 6.2 percent. Similarly, the institution has altered its forecast for economic growth in 2014 from 6.5 percent to 6.2 percent. The revised figures were published in July's edition of the Indonesia Economic Quarterly (IEQ), titled 'Adjusting to Pressures'. The World Bank's forecast is also in sharp contrast with the GDP assumption of the Indonesian government, which puts economic growth in 2013 at 6.3 percent.
Similar to the Jakarta Great Sale event, Indonesia's main stock index (IHSG) trades its stocks at low prices as foreign investors have sold large parts of their Indonesian stock assets in recent weeks. Last week, foreign investors sold IDR 4.9 trillion (about USD $492.4 million), meaning that this year's accumulated foreign net buying has evaporated. Will these sales continue? Yes, I think so. Foreigners have invested about IDR 144 trillion in Indonesia's capital markets between 2007 and Q1-2013. As such, there is still plenty to sell.
Indonesia already is a strong trade partner to a number of countries in Europe. Based on data released by Indonesia's Ministry of Trade, the Netherlands and Spain are two European countries that import a considerable amount of Indonesian products and thus are important contributors to Indonesia's trade surplus in the non oil & gas sector. But other European nations, such as Germany and Russia, pressure Indonesia's trade surplus. It indicates that, despite the wide distance, Indonesia and Europe have a close and valuable trade relationship.
The slowing pace of investments has made the Indonesian government decide to revise down its forecast for economic growth in the second quarter of 2013. Minister of Finance, M. Chatib Basri, believes that GDP growth will not exceed the six percent threshold in Q2-2013. He explained that there are a number of factors that refrain the government from setting a higher growth assumption. These factors include ailing exports, non-optimal government spending, and diminishing gross fixed capital investment.
Indonesia's trade balance recorded another deficit in April 2013 as imports (USD $16.31 billion) exceeded exports (USD $14.70 billion). April's trade deficit, amounting to USD $1.62 billion, was mainly due to continued weak commodity exports in combination with strong oil, basic machinery and utensils imports. After five consecutive months of deficits up to February, Indonesia’s trade account reported a surplus of USD $330 million in March, but fell back into deficit in April. From January to April, Indonesia's trade deficit stands at USD $1.85 billion.
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