Indonesia Q4 GDP up 4.9% on exports

BENGALURU: Indonesia’s economy grew 4.9% in the final quarter of 2021 as exports from the resource-rich economy surged amid a rise in global commodity prices while an easing of Covid-19 restrictions improved domestic consumption, a Reuters poll showed.

Southeast Asia’s largest economy has reported a trade surplusnsince May 2020 on robust exports as commodity prices rose for coal, palm oil, copper, tin, steel and rubber. The 2021 trade surplus was the highest in 14 years.

“In the final quarter of 2021, the Covid caseload had receded sharply, alongside a ramp-up in vaccination, allowing for looser social distancing measures,” wrote Radhika Rao, senior economist at DBS Bank.

“This likely led to further normalisation in domestic activity, which coupled with a strong commodity-driven run in exports, is expected to have translated into a higher headline growth in…