Indonesia Trade Surplus Shrinks As Exports Plunge 8.6%

(RTTNews) - Indonesia's foreign trade surplus decreased in November from a year ago as exports fell sharply amid an increase in imports, figures from Statistics Indonesia showed on Friday.

The trade surplus shrank to $2.4 billion in November from $5.1 billion in the same month last year.

Economists had expected a surplus of $3.05 billion. In October, the surplus was $3.48 billion.

Exports logged a steep decrease of 8.56 percent in November, versus an expected fall of 9.36 percent.

Meanwhile, imports grew 3.4 percent from last year, faster than the 0.2 percent slight increase expected by economists.

On a monthly basis, exports showed a decline of 0.67 percent, while imports were 4.89 percent higher. The monthly decline in shipments was mainly attributed to lower demand for iron and steel commodities.