Indonesia's balance of payments in the fourth quarter of 2009 posted a surplus ofUS$4.0 billion, up from a surplus of US$3.5 billion in the third quarter, the central bankreported. This surplus is encouraged by the performance of both the current account andthe capital and financial account. In response, international reserves at end-Q4 mountedto US$66.1 billion, equivalent to 6.5 months of imports and official debt service payments(as of January 2010, international reserves reached US$69,9 billion).
The current account in Q4 recorded a more robust US$3.4 billion surplus compared to US$2.2billion in Q3. This improvement was explained mainly by buoyant exports driven by theongoing recovery in the global economy and rising prices of some main export commodities.The resurgent export performance was still dominated by resource-based commoditiesrequiring comparatively little imported raw materials.
During the same period, the capital and financial account posted a US$1.4 billion surplusprimarily resulted from surplus on direct investment and portfolio investment. Althoughpressures on international financial markets prompted a drop in foreign investor riskappetite and hence triggered outflow of capital in certain instrument in December 2009,the overall portfolio investment surplus still improved in Q4, 2009 compared to onequarter earlier. The positive condition of the capital and financial account wasattributable to stable domestic macroeconomic conditions and improving global liquidity.
For the whole 2009, the current account surplus reached US$10.6 billion, considerablygreater than the US$0.1 billion surplus in 2008. Similarly, the capital and financialaccount managed a US$3.7 billion surplus, a turnaround from a deficit of US$1.88 billionin 2008. Taken together, the overall 2009 balance of payments charted a US$12.5 billionsurplus, which compares to the US$1.95 billion deficit in 2008.