Indonesia's Balance of Payments Deficit in the First Quarter of 2026 as High as US$ 9.1 Billion

Bank Indonesia (Photo: Antara)

JAKARTA - Bank Indonesia (BI) recorded the performance of the Indonesian Balance of Payments (NPI) in the first quarter of 2026 with a deficit of 9.1 billion US dollars with the foreign exchange reserves position at the end of March 2026 recorded at 148.2 billion US dollars.

The Executive Director of the Communication Department, Ramdan Denny Prakoso, said that the current account deficit remained low amid a global economic slowdown.

In addition, he said that capital and financial transactions recorded a deficit that remained maintained amid increasing uncertainty in the global financial market.

"With this development, NPI in the first quarter of 2026 recorded a deficit of 9.1 billion US dollars and the foreign exchange reserves position at the end of March 2026 remained high at 148.2 billion US dollars," he explained in his statement, Friday, May 22.

Denny said this was equivalent to financing 5.8 months of imports and government foreign debt payments, and was above the international adequacy standard of around 3 months of imports.

Meanwhile, in the first quarter of 2026, current transactions recorded a deficit of 4.0 billion US dollars or 1.1 percent of GDP, after in the fourth quarter of 2025 recorded a deficit of 2.5 billion US dollars or 0.7 percent of GDP.

Denny said the non-oil and gas trade balance still posted a surplus, although it was lower than the surplus in the previous quarter, in line with the slowing global economic growth and disruption of the trade supply chain between countries.

Meanwhile, the oil and gas trade balance deficit also decreased amid domestic economic activity which remained maintained.

On the other hand, he said that the balance of primary income increased was influenced by an increase in coupon/interest payments. Meanwhile, the performance of the balance of services improved in line with the decline in freight service imports.

In addition, Denny said that capital and financial transaction performance remained maintained amid increasing uncertainty in the global financial market.

"Direct investment still recorded a surplus as a reflection of investors' positive perception of the prospects for the economy and the domestic investment climate which remains maintained," he added.

On the other hand, Denny said that portfolio investment also continued to record a surplus, although lower than in the fourth quarter of 2025 in line with increasing global uncertainty.

Meanwhile, other investments recorded a deficit influenced by the payment of foreign loans that are due and the placement of cash and deposits, as well as other assets abroad.

He added that with this development, capital and financial transactions in the first quarter of 2026 recorded a deficit of 4.9 billion US dollars, after recording a surplus of 9.0 billion US dollars in the previous quarter.

Looking ahead, Denny said Bank Indonesia always pays attention to the dynamics of the global economy which can affect the prospects of NPI and continues to strengthen the response of the policy mix, supported by close policy synergy with the Government and related authorities.

"The performance of the 2026 NPI is expected to remain good with a low current account deficit in the range of a deficit of 1.3 percent to 0.5 percent of GDP," he said.