JAKARTA (Reuters) - Indonesia's trade balance is likely to have returned to a deficit in November after a surprise surplus in the prior month, a Reuters poll showed on Friday.
The median forecast of 11 economists in the poll was for a trade deficit of about $130 million in November, following a revised $172.5 million surplus in October.
The contraction in exports was seen to have moderated to 1.18% on-year in the month, compared with October's revised drop of 6.14%.
Meanwhile, November imports were seen shrinking 13.32% annually, slower than the 16.46% drop a month earlier.
Authorities in Indonesia have prioritized improving its trade performance, seeking ways to boost exports and find import substitutions following last year's record-high deficit of $8.7 billion.
In the first 10 months of 2019, Southeast Asia's largest economy recorded a trade gap of $1.78 billion.
The November trade data, due to be released on Monday, will likely be considered by Bank Indonesia when its board of governors meet to review monetary policy on Dec. 18-19.
(Polling by Tabita Diela and Nilufar Rizki; Editing by Gayatri Suroyo and Sherry Jacob-Phillips)