Insider Stories - Bank Indonesia, the central bank, said on Friday that the country's current account deficit is likely to remain wide this year, as the nation may suffer weaker exports due to the mineral-ore export ban.
The deficit in the current account, the broadest measure of trade and investment, may exceed 3 percent of the estimated gross domestic product this year, according to Bank Indonesia governor Agus Martowardojo.
Agus said, should the authorities do not pay strong attention to the impact of the Jan. 12 mineral-ore ban, the current account deficit may top 3 percent of GDP.
Indonesia, the biggest economy in Southeast Asia reported a current account deficit of 3.8 percent of GDP in July-September period, narrowing from a record of 4.4 percent in the previous quarter.
The central bank is set to announce the balance of payments data, which contains the current acount details on Feb. 12.