External trade recovers after deficit

External trade recovers after deficit

JAKARTA (JP): Indonesia's external trade, which plunged to a
deficit of US$204.9 million in June, rebounded the following
month with a surplus of $362.5 million, Minister of Information
Harmoko announced yesterday.

He told reporters after a limited cabinet meeting on the
economy at the Bina Graha presidential office that the country's
exports reached $3.77 billion in July, comprised of $2.95 billion
in exports of non-oil products and $824.7 million in exports of
oil and gas. Imports were recorded at $3.41 billion.

July's exports were slightly higher than the $3.75 billion
recorded in June and up from the July 1994 level of $3.5 billion.

Harmoko said that cumulatively, Indonesia's exports in the
January-July period reached $25.02 billion, with $18.92 billion
gained from exports of non-oil products and $6.09 billion of oil
and gas.

Because imports only reached $22.68 billion, the country
enjoyed a trade surplus of $2.33 billion in the January-July
period, he said.

He said the meeting, which was presided over by President
Soeharto and attended by Vice President Try Sutrisno and most of
the cabinet members, also reported that the country's inflation
rate in September was recorded at 0.38 percent, slightly higher
than 0.32 percent in the previous month but lower than 0.53
percent in September 1994.

Last month's inflation rate was caused by the 0.46 percent
average increase in food prices, 0.46 percent rise in housing
costs, 0.56 percent hike in clothing prices and 0.26 percent rise
in the prices of other goods and services.

Harmoko said that last month's inflation rate brought the
cumulative inflation rate to 6.79 percent during the first nine
months of this year, far lower than the 7.38 percent recorded in
the same period of last year.

"Even though last month's inflation rate was relatively low,
President Soeharto instructed the National Logistics Agency
(Bulog) to improve its rice market operations to control the
price developments of the staple at market places," he said.

The minister acknowledged that the prices of grains increased
by 8.19 percent in Mataram (West Nusa Tenggara) last month, 8.11
percent in Yogyakarta, 7.88 percent in Surabaya (East Java) and
4.71 percent in Jakarta.

Harmoko said that the money supply was recorded at Rp 48.38
trillion (US$21.26 billion) as of the end of August, compared to
Rp 47.7 trillion as of the end of July, Rp 47.33 trillion as of
the end of June and Rp 45.22 trillion as of the end of May.

He said the President also instructed Minister of Finance
Mar'ie Muhammad and Bank Indonesia Governor J. Soedradjad
Djiwandono, who will soon attend an annual meeting of the World
Bank and the International Monetary Fund, to continue urging the
two multinational financial institutions to help reduce the debt
burdens of least developed countries.

Indonesia itself will be ready to continue its technical
assistance to the 18 most debt-ridden developing nations in
managing their debts, Harmoko said. (rid)