Rising August non-oil and gas shipments aid ailing Indonesia exports
JAKARTA, Sept 15 (Reuters) - Indonesia's non-oil and gas exports rose
in August for the first time in 16 months, producing
better-than-expected export data, but the statistics bureau cautioned
against seeing this as the start of a brighter trend.
Southeast Asia's largest economy, which mainly exports resources, has been struggling amid low commodity prices. Its total shipments have fallen in each of the past four years.
In August, a 2.76 percent rise in non-oil and gas exports helped to cut total export contraction to 0.74 percent, the slowest pace in the 23-month streak of export deterioration, according to bureau data released on Thursday.
The August contraction was also much smaller than the 8.80 percent decline projected in a Reuters poll, and the 17 percent annual contraction Indonesia had in July.
The pace of import contraction in August also slowed, to 0.49 percent from July's 10.52 percent. The Reuters poll had expected imports to fall 10.55 percent.
Sasmito Hadi Wibowo, statistics bureau deputy chief, said improvement in prices of palm oil and coffee, two main commodities, as well as increasing overseas sales of gold and jewellery contributed to better export earnings in August. But export performance "will still likely go up and down in the future," Wibowo said.
Akbar Suwardi, Bank Rakyat Indonesia's economist, agreed that the August numbers do not mean exports have bottomed out. "We still have to watch for possibly increased deterioration towards the end of this year," Suwardi said, noting that commodity prices and demand from Indonesia's main trade partners remain low.
Indonesia's trade surplus in August was $293.6 million, less than the poll's median forecast of $450 million. Every month this year, Indonesia has had a trade surplus, as imports have fallen more sharply than exports.
(Additional reporting by Nilufar Rizki; Editing by Richard Borsuk)
http://www.theedgemarkets.com/my/article/rising-august-non-oil-and-gas-shipments-aid-ailing-indonesia-exports
Southeast Asia's largest economy, which mainly exports resources, has been struggling amid low commodity prices. Its total shipments have fallen in each of the past four years.
In August, a 2.76 percent rise in non-oil and gas exports helped to cut total export contraction to 0.74 percent, the slowest pace in the 23-month streak of export deterioration, according to bureau data released on Thursday.
The August contraction was also much smaller than the 8.80 percent decline projected in a Reuters poll, and the 17 percent annual contraction Indonesia had in July.
The pace of import contraction in August also slowed, to 0.49 percent from July's 10.52 percent. The Reuters poll had expected imports to fall 10.55 percent.
Sasmito Hadi Wibowo, statistics bureau deputy chief, said improvement in prices of palm oil and coffee, two main commodities, as well as increasing overseas sales of gold and jewellery contributed to better export earnings in August. But export performance "will still likely go up and down in the future," Wibowo said.
Akbar Suwardi, Bank Rakyat Indonesia's economist, agreed that the August numbers do not mean exports have bottomed out. "We still have to watch for possibly increased deterioration towards the end of this year," Suwardi said, noting that commodity prices and demand from Indonesia's main trade partners remain low.
Indonesia's trade surplus in August was $293.6 million, less than the poll's median forecast of $450 million. Every month this year, Indonesia has had a trade surplus, as imports have fallen more sharply than exports.
(Additional reporting by Nilufar Rizki; Editing by Richard Borsuk)
http://www.theedgemarkets.com/my/article/rising-august-non-oil-and-gas-shipments-aid-ailing-indonesia-exports
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