Indonesia 1Q GDP Growth Picks up to 5.01% on Year

Indonesia's economy picked up slightly in the first quarter of the year, helped by a recovery in global commodity prices.

The official Central Statistics Agency said Friday that southeast Asia's largest economy in the first quarter grew 5.01% compared with the same period a year ago, improving on the fourth quarter's 4.94% expansion. Compared with the quarter before, the economy contracted 0.34% after shrinking 1.77% in the October-December period.

The median forecasts of 10 economists polled by The Wall Street Journal was for 5.03% year-on-year growth and a 0.29% on-quarter contraction.

Higher oil prices late last year as well as improved growth in Indonesia's main export markets helped lift prices of commodities such as coal, palm oil, rubber, and nickel, which make up a large chunk of Indonesia's exports.

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(END) Dow Jones Newswires

May 04, 2017 22:45 ET (02:45 GMT)