Indonesia’s overall trade activity continues to be weak

Indonesia recorded a trade deficit of USD 0.23bn in December, as compared with Barclays forecast of USD 0.1bn deficit. The overall trade activity in Indonesia continues to be weak. The nation's energy sector's exports remain on the lower side; however, the non-oil and gas exports saw some rebound; recording a drop of 13.7% y/y, as compared with November's decline of 16.5% y/y.

The country's imports rebound slightly, declining 16% y/y, as compared with the Barclays forecast of a decline of 21.1%. This indicates the rapid pace of private consumption and investment spending that began in June. Capital goods imports increased 2.4%, after declining for nine consecutive months.

Indonesia recorded a trade surplus of USD 7.5bn in 2015. The country's realised infrastructure investment continues to increase, reaching 56.9% of the budget in November, as compared with 10.9% in June and 33.8% in September.