JAKARTA Economic uncertainty over the past year turned out to bring its own advantages to Indonesia. Minister of Finance (Menkeu) Sri Mulyani said, until December 2022, Indonesia's trade balance had experienced a surplus for 32 consecutive months since May 2022.
"We can have the highest surplus in Indonesia's history of US$54.5 billion ( throughout 2022)," he said while giving a public lecture with the theme "Economic Condition and Fiscal Indonesia" in Political Year, Friday, February 3.
According to the Minister of Finance, the occurrence of commercial activity cannot be separated from the soaring price of leading commodities such as coal and palm oil (CPO).
"So when conditions weaken, Indonesia can still capitalize on the situation. This is something good by balancing foreign demand with domestic demand," he said.
The Minister of Finance added that the community has also shown more optimism in the market through increased spending. In addition, stronger mobility also encourages consumption to a higher level than before.
"In fact, this high confidence and mobility arose after the government raised fuel prices by around 30 percent some time ago," he stressed.
To note, Indonesia chose to take advantage of foreign trade returns as a asset for providing subsidies when energy prices increased sharply. This strategy then maintains people's purchasing power so that the level of economic growth can be stable above 5 percent in the last four quarters.
Not only that, RI is also considered quite capable in controlling the rate of inflation which continues to decline to 5.28 percent as of January 2023 based on the consumer price index (CP). The government itself is optimistic that IHK inflation can return to its target of 3 percent plus minus 1 percent in the second semester.
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