According to the latest trade data published by the Indonesian Statistics Bureau, the country posted a touch smaller-than-expected trade surplus in March.
Indonesia reported a trade surplus of $0.74 billion vs. $0.76 billion surplus expected and $2.34 billion previous. The imports and exports came in at -0.75% and -0.20% respectively vs. -7.88% and -6.73% expectations and -5.11% and +11.0% respective priors.
The median forecast from economists was for a $0.27 billion trade surplus last month, the Reuters poll showed on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, the Bank Indonesia (BI) kept the key rate unchanged at 4.50% at its April monetary policy meeting held a day before.
FX implications
USD/IDR keeps its recovery mode intact from monthly lows following the release of mixed Indonesian Trade data. At the time of writing, the cross trades 0.13% lower at 15,590, having dropped to a new four-week low of 15,550 earlier today.
About Indonesia’s Trade Balance
The Trade Balance released by Statistics Indonesia is a balance between exports and imports of total goods and services. A positive value shows trade surplus, while a negative value shows trade deficit. If a steady demand in exchange for Indonesian exports is seen, the Rupiah will receive a positive (or bullish) effect, while a low reading is seen as negative (or bearish).