- Oct 8, 2004
- 18,513
- 25,354
- AFL Club
- Port Adelaide
- Other Teams
- Liverpool
Australia's monthly trade surplus shot to an all-time record $10.6 billion in March, well above economists forecasts of $6.4 billion, driven by a huge rebound in gold, iron ore and coal exports.
The strong figures, balanced by weaker imports will likely contribute between 0.3 and 0.4 percentage points to GDP growth in the March quarter economists said.
A record 26 tonnes of gold worth $3.5 billion were exported in March. Iron ore and coal exports rebounded more than 30 per cent in March after having slipped in Febraury during which time China reported its record low Purchasing Manager Index.
The majority of the jump in exports went to China as it started to reopen after its lock down. Iron ore exports to China rose 33 per cent, with quantities up 21 per cent and price up 10 per cent.
Some of this rebound was attributed to the recovery of exports after cyclone Damien in February hampered iron ore supply, but economists expect the rebuilding in exports won't last.
"The massive increase in exports in March is hardly surprising given the impact of a cyclone in February but we think weakness in global demand will weigh on export growth in the coming months," Capital Economics Ben Udy said.
Our total goods exports to China surged 21.6 per cent or $6.3 billion in March. However travel from all countries into Australia is down $657 million or 14 per cent in March with tourism related services down $734 million or 15 per cent.
www.afr.com
The strong figures, balanced by weaker imports will likely contribute between 0.3 and 0.4 percentage points to GDP growth in the March quarter economists said.
A record 26 tonnes of gold worth $3.5 billion were exported in March. Iron ore and coal exports rebounded more than 30 per cent in March after having slipped in Febraury during which time China reported its record low Purchasing Manager Index.
The majority of the jump in exports went to China as it started to reopen after its lock down. Iron ore exports to China rose 33 per cent, with quantities up 21 per cent and price up 10 per cent.
Some of this rebound was attributed to the recovery of exports after cyclone Damien in February hampered iron ore supply, but economists expect the rebuilding in exports won't last.
"The massive increase in exports in March is hardly surprising given the impact of a cyclone in February but we think weakness in global demand will weigh on export growth in the coming months," Capital Economics Ben Udy said.
Our total goods exports to China surged 21.6 per cent or $6.3 billion in March. However travel from all countries into Australia is down $657 million or 14 per cent in March with tourism related services down $734 million or 15 per cent.
Trade surplus at record $10.6b thanks to iron ore, coal
Australia's monthly trade surplus shot to a record $10.6 billion in March, driven by a huge rebound in iron ore and coal, mostly to China.
.
