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)