Indonesia's August trade surplus expected to widen, September inflation seen higher: Reuters poll

JAKARTA — Indonesia was expected to record a larger trade surplus of about US$630 million (S$804 million) in August, while its inflation rate for September was projected to rise slightly, according to a Reuters poll of economists.

Below are the details from the Sept 25 to Sept 29 poll, conducted ahead of the data release on Oct 1:

The median estimate of 17 economists put annual export growth in August at 4.30 per cent, slowing from 6.05 per cent in the prior month. Import growth, meanwhile, was expected to accelerate to 31.14 per cent from 27.02 per cent in July.

In July, the trade surplus stood at about US$130 million, reversing trade deficits in the previous two months. The deficit recorded in May had ended a monthly trade-surplus streak that had lasted roughly six years.

According to a poll of 20 economists, September headline inflation was expected to rise to 3.30 per cent from 3.19 per cent, remaining within the central bank's 1.5 per cent-3.5 per cent target range.

The mean forecast for core inflation in September stood at 2.91 per cent, broadly unchanged from August's 2.92 per cent.

[[nid:746474]]