Bank Indonesia Happy Trade Balance Surplus Can Strengthen Economic Resilience

JAKARTA – Bank Indonesia (BI) stated that the trade balance surplus which continued in February 2023 had a positive impact on the economy. It was stated that last month's surplus had increased from US$3.88 billion in January 2023 to US$5.48 billion.

Head of the BI Communication Department Erwin Haryono said the results achieved were useful for supporting resilience from the external side.

"Bank Indonesia continues to strengthen policy synergies with the Government and other authorities in order to further enhance external resilience and support national economic recovery," he said in an official statement quoted on Thursday, March 16.

According to Erwin, the surplus in the trade balance in February 2023 was mainly driven by the continued surplus in the non-oil and gas trade balance. He said the non-oil and gas trade balance recorded a surplus of 6.70 billion US dollars supported by the continued strong performance of non-oil and gas exports of 20.21 billion US dollars.

"Non-oil and gas exports which remained strong were mainly sourced from increased exports of manufactured products such as electrical machinery and equipment, and exports of various chemical products," he said.

Erwin explained, the increase in non-oil and gas exports was also recorded in natural resource-based commodities, such as CPO, tin, and iron and steel, in line with the high global commodity prices.

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

"Apart from non-oil and gas exports, the trade balance surplus was also affected by the slight reduction in the oil and gas trade balance deficit from US$1.42 billion in January 2023 to US$1.22 billion in February 2023," said Erwin.

For your information, the trade balance current account has continued a surplus trend for 34 consecutive months or since last May 2020.