JAKARTA: Indonesia’s exports and imports likely surged in July from the same month a year ago as trade figures were affected by seasonal factors, a Reuters poll showed.
Officials said the contraction in exports and imports in June was due to the long Eid al-Fitr holidays. Last year the holidays were in July. The values of July 2016’s exports and imports were the lowest in years, affecting the growth base for July 2017 figures.
The median forecast of 10 analysts in the poll was for a yearly increase of 31.12 percent in exports and 30.34 percent in imports in July this year.
Shipments from Indonesia fell 11.82 percent on an annual basis in the previous month, while imports were down 17.21 percent, both representing the first contraction in nine months.
Analysts in the poll expect Indonesia’s trade surplus to shrink to $1.10 billion in July from June’s $1.63 billion.