By Ben Otto and Joko Hariyanto
JAKARTA, Indonesia--Indonesia booked a wider-than-expected trade
deficit of $270 million in September, partly because of weakening
investment, data showed Monday.
In September, exports from Southeast Asia's largest economy
totaled $15.28 billion, up 3.9% from a year ago, while imports
notched $15.55 billion, up 0.2%, Indonesia' official statistics
agency said. Through September, Indonesia has posted a $1.66
billion trade deficit in 2014.
A survey of economists polled by The Wall Street Journal
forecast a narrowing monthly deficit of $135 million, from a
revised $312 million in August, in light of resumed
copper-concentrate exports by the local units of Freeport-McMoRan
Copper & Gold and Newmont Mining Corp. Earlier this year,
Indonesian regulators forced miners to refine minerals
domestically, which halted exports for several major miners until
they recently agreed to pay new export taxes.
Capital-goods imports also remained sluggish, trending at a 7%
decline for the year, according to DBS Bank Ltd. Foreign investment
in Indonesia is at a record high, but the pace of investment has
slowed over the past year as economic growth has slipped to just
more than 5% from almost 6% in 2013.
"At the very least, imports and exports are not falling
anymore," said Gundy Cahyadi, economist for DBS. "The economy needs
strong domestic demand to continue its medium-term expansion."
Write to Ben Otto at ben.otto@wsj.com