REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA - Governor of Bank Indonesia (BI) Agus Martowardojo said structural reform being launched by the government could help cut the country's current account deficit to less than 3 percent of the GDP in 2014.

"We hope that structural reform the government has started could reduce the current account deficit to less than 3 percent," Martowardojo said on Monday. 

In the third quarter, the country still suffered current account deficit at 8.4 billion USD or 3.8 percent of the countrys Gross Domestic Products, down from 9.9 billion USD of 4.4 percent of the GDP in the second quarter. Martowardojo predicted the countrys current account deficit would be around 3.6 percent of the GDP this year.

"We have seen an encouraging trend that the deficit is expected to narrow down to 3.4 percent in the last quarter of 2013," he said and refused to speculate about the impact of the government regulation banning export of mineral ores in 2014 on the country's foreign trade and trade deficit. 

The country has suffered deficit in its international trade over the past several months due to shrinking exports. The regulation, which is aimed at boosting development of the downstream industry in the mining sector, is feared to further widen trade deficit. 

"We still want to hear details of the regulation from the energy and mineral resources ministry," he said. 

Martowardojo said the progress made in reducing the current account deficit was thanks to surplus in the trade of commodities other than oil and gas as a result of a big slashing in imports. In addition, deficit narrowed in service and income accounts, he added.

Meanwhile the World Bank said in its latest quarterly report predicted the country's current account deficit would narrow from 3.5 percent in 2013 to 2.6 percent in 2014 as a result of shrinking import growth and an increase in exports. 

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