Indonesia's Current Account Deficit Widens to 1.0% of GDP in Q1
Jakarta. Indonesia's current account deficit widened slightly in the first quarter to $2.4 billion, equal to 1.0 percent of gross domestic product, the central bank said on Friday (13/05).
The deficit was a revised 0.9 percent in the fourth quarter of 2016, Bank Indonesia said. It originally reported the October-December deficit as 0.8 percent of GDP.
A surplus in the country's financial and capital accounts was more than enough to cover the first quarter's deficit, bringing Indonesia's balance of payments to a surplus of $4.5 billion in January-March.
In the previous quarter, the surplus was roughly the same.
The current account is the broadest measure of a country's foreign trade in both goods and services. It is part of the balance of payments, which summarize an economy's transactions with the rest of the world.
At 1 percent, Indonesia's current account deficit is at a comfortable level. In 2013, the deficit topped 4 percent of GDP, putting pressure on the rupiah.
Reuters
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