This is more than double the growth pace that had been anticipated by analysts. It is also worth noting that imports of consumer goods - although constituting only a very small portion of total imports (approx. 10 percent) - surged more than 60 percent year-on-year (y/y) in July 2018, indicating there is strong demand from the Indonesian market.
Imports of non-oil & gas products rose 29.28 percent (y/y) to USD $15.66 billion in July 2018, especially due to a strong increase in imports of mechanical machinery and aircraft. Meanwhile, imports of oil & gas rose 47.09 percent (y/y) to USD $2.61 billion.
Meanwhile, the country's trade surplus in June 2018 was revised to USD $1.71 billion. In the first seven months of 2018 Indonesia has to cope with a USD $3.09 billion trade deficit.
