JAKARTA : Indonesia’s trade surplus is likely to narrow in November as exports are seen posting another contraction, while imports are expected to witness a marginal growth, a Reuters poll showed on Thursday.
The poll, conducted with 20 economists between Dec. 8 and Dec. 14, showed trade surplus of $3.05 billion in November, compared with $3.48 billion in the prior month.
The resources-rich nation, a major exporter of commodities such as coal, palm oil, and nickel products, has seen its exports weakening in recent months due to falling commodity prices and a global economic slowdown that hurts demand.
Exports in November were seen contracting 9.36 per cent year-on-year, after a 10.43 per cent drop in October.
Imports were expected to post a 0.20 per cent increase in November, edging up from a 2.42 per cent drop in the prior month.
(Polling by Veronica Khongwir and Vijayalakshmi Srinivasan; Writing by Fransiska Nangoy; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips)
