Southeast Asia's largest economy has been recording trade surpluses every month since May 2020, but they have narrowed in in recent months due to moderating commodity prices. January's surplus was $3.87 billion.
Indonesia is the world's biggest exporter of thermal coal and palm oil. It is also a top supplier of other commodities, like tin, copper, rubber and nickel products.
Export growth in February was seen slowing further to 5% on a yearly basis, compared with the previous month's rate of 16.37%, according to a median forecast of 17 economists.
Meanwhile, February import growth was seen jumping to 9.74% from 1.27% in January.
Ramadan in Indonesia, the world's largest Muslim-majority country, will start next week.
Faisal Rachman, an economist with Bank Mandiri, said rising imports reflected companies' preparations for Ramadan and post-pandemic recovery of manufacturing activities.
Mandiri predicted Indonesia might post narrower monthly trade surpluses going forward due to the decline in commodity prices, which could swing its current account to a deficit of around 1.1% of GDP this year, compared with a 1% surplus in 2022.
(Polling by Madhumita Gokhale and Veronica Khongwir in Bengaluru; Writing by Stefanno Sulaiman in Jakarta; Editing by Kanupriya Kapoor)
