(Adds comments on rupiah, details)
JAKARTA, April 17 (Reuters) - Indonesia posted a 128.5
trillion rupiah ($8.69 billion) budget surplus in the first
quarter on strong tax collection and the recent strengthening of
the rupiah currency could help further reduce this year's
deficit, officials said on Monday.
Indonesia's tax take rose dramatically in 2022 amid high
global commodity prices and this year's revenues have remained
strong, based on March data, amid improvement in the domestic
economy after pandemic restrictions were lifted late last year.
Revenues in January to March stood at 647.2 trillion rupiah,
up 29% from the same period last year, while spending rose 5.7%
to 518.7 trillion rupiah, according to finance ministry data.
The first quarter's surplus was equivalent to 0.61% of gross
domestic product (GDP) and compared with a 0.06% surplus in
2022's first three months.
The recent appreciation of the rupiah against the U.S.
dollar would bode well for government revenues, including
increasing revenues from royalties on natural resources and
reducing interest payments on debt and spending on fuel
subsidies, Febrio Kacaribu, the head of the ministry's fiscal
policy agency, told a news conference.
"The budget deficit will be more under control," Febrio
said.
The rupiah has strengthened more than 5% so far this year,
better than other emerging Asian currencies, even as it fell
0.6% on Monday's trading.
Febrio did not offer a new forecast for the 2023 budget
deficit. The government targets a deficit of 2.84% of GDP this
year.
Southeast Asia's largest economy likely grew 5% in the first
quarter and the government maintained a GDP growth target of
5.3%, Febrio added.
Indonesia's statistics bureau is due to release
first-quarter GDP data early next month.
Last year, the economy grew 5.31%.
($1 = 14,780.0000 rupiah)
(Reporting by Stefanno Sulaiman and Gayatri Suroyo
Editing by Ed Davies, William Maclean)
