Arnoldus Kristianus, Jakarta – Indonesia reported Monday that its October trade surplus reached $2.39 billion, but this was only nearly half of what the country had registered in September despite a 66-month streak.

The surplus had amounted to $4.34 billion in September.

Indonesia's positive trade balance totaled $2.71 billion in October of last year. Despite the huge drop, this meant Indonesia had managed to be in the black for 66 months in a row since May 2020, according to data shown by the Central Statistics Agency (BPS).

A non-oil and gas surplus of a whopping $4.31 billion had mainly driven the positive trade balance seen in October.

"We registered a $1.92 billion deficit in oil and gas trade in October," BPS deputy Pudji Ismartini told a press conference on Monday.

Indonesia, however, witnessed surges in the ten-month surplus compared to last year's figures. The country's positive trade balance had gone up $10.98 billion to $35.88 billion. Palm oil drives Indonesia's surplus run, as the commodity added around $20.2 billion in exports.

Despite US President Donald Trump's tariff hikes, Washington remains a major driver of Indonesia's positive trade balance. Indonesia's non-oil and gas surplus with the US was the largest compared to other trading partners, totaling $17.4 billion as of October. Followed by India ($11.37 billion) and the Philippines ($7.09 billion).

China still makes up the lion's share of Indonesia's non-oil and gas deficit, as data showed a $17.74 billion gap with the Asian superpower over the same period. Close neighbor Australia was the second-biggest source of deficit, reaching $3.91 billion. Brazil was responsible for the next-largest share of the deficit at $1.48 billion.

Source: https://jakartaglobe.id/business/indonesias-surplus-drops-to-239-billion-despite-66month-strea