Sharjah24 – AFP: Indonesia's economy bounced back in the second quarter to post its first growth in more than a year, but analysts warned the recovery might be short-lived as Covid-19 surges.
Southeast Asia's largest economy grew by 7.07 percent in the April-to-June quarter compared with the same period last year, the Central Statistics Agency (BPS) said Thursday.
The figure is higher than a projection by the Central Bank of Indonesia, which predicted growth of 6.75 percent.
The expansion, the first positive figure in five quarters, was driven by a pick-up in exports and imports as Indonesia's trading partners also saw greater activity.
Domestic consumption also contributed to the comeback with motorcycle and car sales jumping 2.5 and 7.5 percent respectively compared with the first quarter.
But analysts believe Indonesia will struggle to record continued growth as a virus surge triggered by the Delta variant wracks the country.
The archipelago has reported more than 3.5 million infections and over 100,000 deaths from Covid-19 though official figures are widely believed to be an underestimate.
It has never implemented a full lockdown but introduced restrictions in early July limiting travel and non-essential business activity.
Last year the country's economy shrunk 2.07 percent as it entered its first recession since the 1997 Asian financial crisis.
The central bank recently cut its 2021 GDP growth forecast to between 3.5 percent and 4.3 percent.
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