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The World Bank lowered its growth projection for Indonesia for next year, marginally from 6.3 percent to 6.2 percent, to better reflect the impact of weaker global growth prospects and ongoing economic uncertainty.

“Domestic forward-looking indicators appear supportive, with consumer sentiment buoyed by a decrease in inflation to its lowest level in one and a half years,” the US-based lender said in its quarterly report released on Wednesday.

“However, reflecting weaker-than-expected outcomes and continued global uncertainty, projected growth of Indonesia’s major trading partners in 2012 has been downgraded,” it said, with their projected growth rate falling to 3.5 percent, compared to the 3.9 percent growth rate the bank had forecast in October .

“As a result, the World Bank’s baseline 2012 growth forecast for Indonesia is being lowered to 6.2 percent, marginally down on 6.3 percent,” the report said.

Its growth forecast for 2011 did not change, at 6.4 percent.

The bank’s macroeconomic team in Jakarta compiled the report under the supervision of lead economist Shubham Chaudhuri and senior country economist Enrique Blanco Armas.

The bank also warned that the country’s growth rate could potentially decline more.

“There is the risk of deterioration to more adverse scenarios, such as a major freezing up of international financial markets or a severe, prolonged downturn, encompassing the major emerging economies,” the report said. “The external shocks hitting Indonesia through the trade and commodity and financial channels would be more severe, leading to growth below the baseline projection.”

Indonesia posted its first quarterly balance of payment deficit in the third quarter of 2011. In August to September an overall balance of payment deficit was recorded at $4 billion, the first quarterly deficit since the fourth quarter of 2008, after the fall of the Lehman Brothers.

“The deficit was driven by a sharp reversal in portfolio financial account flows as foreign investors sold down their shares and government bonds in the wake of heightened uncertainty surrounding the euro zone debt crisis,” the bank said.

However, it added that portfolio inflows “are expected to return in 2012, reversing recent outflows,” though the inflows and outflows are “likely to remain volatile in the near-term.”

The bank said Indonesia can achieve better economic growth if its manufacturing and related services sectors can play “an important role in promoting quality job creation.”

It said these sectors should aim to create jobs with higher productivity and wages, which will help absorb the roughly two million Indonesians entering the labor force each year.

“There are many reasons to be optimistic about Indonesia’s manufacturing sector,” it said.

The bank cited Indonesia’s rapidly growing domestic market and low labor costs compared to other countries in the region, which could promote a significant increase in domestic and foreign investment.