Southeast Asia’s largest economy grew 3.69% for all of 2021.

Indonesia’s economic growth accelerated in the final quarter of last year following the easing of virus mobility restrictions and record exports, driven by rising commodity prices.

Southeast Asia’s largest economy grew 5.02 percent on an annual basis in the October-December quarter, down from 3.51 percent growth in the previous quarter, data from Statistics Indonesia. A Reuters news agency poll expected growth of 4.90% in the fourth quarter.

For the whole of 2021, gross domestic product grew by 3.69% annually, compared to a contraction of 2.07% the previous year, as the country recovered from the effects of the COVID pandemic. -19.

However, the outlook for this year is clouded by rising COVID-19 cases, potential volatility in financial markets due to global monetary tightening, and Indonesia’s rollback of monetary and fiscal stimulus.

“Because our COVID cases were high in the third quarter, people’s mobility was restricted and economic activity slowed…all activities, government and private sector, resumed in the fourth quarter,” Margo Yuwono said. , head of Statistics Indonesia.

Yuwono also noted that high prices for major Indonesian commodities, such as palm oil, coal and nickel, boosted exports in the October-December quarter.

Indonesia was hit by a deadly wave of COVID-19 cases in July-August, but mobility curbs eased towards the end of August as infections declined.

COVID-19 cases are currently rising again in Indonesia due to the spread of the Omicron variant, with Sunday’s 36,057 new cases being the highest since August. However, the authorities did not reimpose strict anti-virus measures.