Trade balance surplus of Indonesia contributed positively to maintaining the external resilience of the country’s economy, according to Bank Indonesia (the central bank).

Jakarta (Indonesia Window) – Trade balance surplus of Indonesia in January 2023 was recorded at 3.87 billion U.S. dollars, according to Statistics Indonesia (BPS).

This development continued the previous month's surplus of 3.96 billion U.S. dollars, and the country's surplus since May 2020, according to the Head of the Bank Indonesia Communication Department, Erwin Haryono, in a written statement quoted by Indonesia Window on Thursday.

Bank Indonesia views the surplus as a positive contribution to maintaining the external resilience of the Indonesian economy, Erwin said.

In the future, Bank Indonesia, the central bank, will continue to strengthen policy synergies with the government and policy authorities in order to further enhance external resilience and support national economic recovery, he said.

The country’s trade balance surplus in January 2023 will come from the continued surplus in the non-oil and non-gas trade balance and a slight reduction in the oil and gas trade balance deficit, Erwin added.

In January 2023, the non-oil and non-gas trade balance surplus was recorded at 5.29 billion U.S. dollars.

This development was supported by the continued strong performance of non-oil and non-gas exports, which were recorded at 20.83 billion U.S. dollars.

The non-oil and non-gas export performance came mainly from the export of natural resource-based commodities, including rubber and coal which remained strong in line with the high global commodity prices.

In addition, exports of manufactured products, such as electrical machinery and equipment as well as precious metals and jewelery/gems, recorded an increase.

By countries of destination, non-oil and non-gas exports to China, the United States and Japan remained high and became the main contributor to Indonesia's total exports.

Meanwhile, the deficit in the oil and gas trade balance decreased slightly from 1.73 billion U.S. dollars in December 2022 to 1.42 billion U.S. dollars in January 2023.

Reporting by Indonesia Window