Indonesia's February exports fell the most in 2-1/2 years, hit by sliding oil and gas shipments, but a big fall in imports helped achieve a trade surplus for the third straight month. Weak global oil and commodities prices have hit Southeast Asia's largest economy, while a falling rupiah has yet to give exports a boost, although dampening domestic consumption. February exports dropped 16.02 percent on a yearly basis, the largest fall since August 2012, statistics bureau data showed on Monday. Imports declined 16.24 percent. A Reuters poll had forecast a 7.60 percent fall in exports and a 6.80 percent drop in imports. "The 16 percent contraction in exports and imports is eye-catching; however, prices add a distortion," said Daniel Wilson of ANZ in Singapore. "The firmer volume of imports, especially non-oil import volumes up 14.5 percent y/y, year to date, suggests some firming of activity, which is hidden in the headline contraction number." Despite the export fall, Bank Indonesia said there were signs of improvement, pointing to a surplus of $174 million in the oil and gas trade balance in February. "Bank Indonesia expects Indonesia's structure of trade balance will be healthier and that it will support the recovery process of Indonesia's external balance," it said. Rupiah Most of Indonesia's exports are commodities and with months of low global prices, shipments have been weak. A slowdown in big commodities importer China led to a fall of more than 40 percent in exports there in January-February. The rupiah, at 17-year lows, has not propped up exports, since it made imports of raw materials and capital goods more expensive, said Ahmad Erani Yustika, a professor at Brawijaya University in East Java. "Theoretically a weak currency should help export competitiveness, but given that we produce things with imported raw materials, a weak rupiah actually increased costs and that affected exports," Yustika told Reuters. The government will issue new rules soon to support exports and curb imports. But the changes will not boost exports immediately, said Chief Economics Minister Sofyan Djalil, adding that the government expected export-oriented firms to invest more, and lift productivity, before increasing shipments. "Our industry was lagging behind, because it didn't get enough attention, we were too reliant on mineral (exports)," Djalil said. "That's why this is about restructuring." Indonesia posted a third straight monthly trade surplus of $738.3 million in February, helped by the fall in imports. In 2014, Indonesia's trade balance improved significantly, with the deficit more than halving to $1.88 billion from 2013. (Reuters)