Euro zone July trade surplus up, on rising exports

“Indonesia’s trade balance gained a surplus of $433.8 million for August, in which exports were recorded to reach $12.78 billion, while imports amounted to $12.27 billion”, BPS head Suryamin said as quoted by Antara in Jakarta on Tuesday.

The trade surplus fell to Euro 3.6 billion in July from Euro 4.1 billion in the preceding month.

The on-month increase in exports rise was propelled by a 7.67% increase in oil exports, a 41.04% increase in vehicle and spare parts and a $37.26% gain in machinery exports, the agency said.

For the whole of the European Union of 28 countries, the unadjusted trade surplus was €12.9 billion in July compared to €1.2 billion the year before.

The surplus was slightly lower than the median forecast of 10 economists polled by The Wall Street Journal for a $478 million surplus.

Medical and pharmaceutical products accounted for the bulk of the increase.

Eurostat didn’t provide a breakdown for the destination of eurozone exports, but did give details for the larger, 28-member European Union.

As compared to June, exports in July rose by 5.8% and imports by 3.6%.

Mandiri Sekuritas economist Aldian Taloputra, who had predicted that Indonesia’s trade surplus would reduce to $464 million, cited the following factors contributing to the improvement: a growth in investment activities, improved readings on the purchasing manager index, and a rebound in cement sales. “That said, Irish exporters should continue to perform well on a relative basis”, he said.