KONTAN.CO.ID - JAKARTA. An unexpectedly large slump in imports led Indonesia to book a bigger-than-expected trade surplus in September despite exports remaining weak, data from the statistics bureau showed on Monday. Southeast Asia's largest economy reported a $3.42 billion trade surplus last month, compared with a Reuters poll expecting a $2.13 billion surplus. The previous month, the resource-rich country had a $3.12 billion surplus. The widening surplus should help cushion the drop in the rupiah exchange rate against a strong U.S. dollar, and could reaffirm expectations the central bank would stand pat on rates this week, some analysts said.
Indonesia Posts Higher-than-Expected Trade Surplus
KONTAN.CO.ID - JAKARTA. An unexpectedly large slump in imports led Indonesia to book a bigger-than-expected trade surplus in September despite exports remaining weak, data from the statistics bureau showed on Monday. Southeast Asia's largest economy reported a $3.42 billion trade surplus last month, compared with a Reuters poll expecting a $2.13 billion surplus. The previous month, the resource-rich country had a $3.12 billion surplus. The widening surplus should help cushion the drop in the rupiah exchange rate against a strong U.S. dollar, and could reaffirm expectations the central bank would stand pat on rates this week, some analysts said.