Aussie May Trade Balance: Surplus of AUD$5.745m

The Australian trade balance for May 2019 has arrived as follows:

Surplus: AUD$5.745m vs the expected AUD$5250m surplus, the prior was AUD$4871m surplus.

This follows Australia’s trade position swinging from deficit end-2017 to growing surpluses through 2018 and a record high A$5.0bn in Feb 2019.

Analysts at Westpac said that a surge in the value of resources exports has been the main driver of late, but non-resource exports are also growing while imports are being constrained by sluggish consumer spending and the weak AUD. "Iron ore export receipts should be boosted by both rebounding volumes after Tropical Cyclone Veronica and of course higher prices, but coal should be a drag."

About the trade balance

The trade balance released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics is the difference in the value of its imports and exports of Australian goods. Export data can give an important reflection of Australian growth, while imports provide an indication of domestic demand. Trade Balance gives an early indication of the net export performance. If a steady demand in exchange for Australian exports is seen, that would turn into a positive growth in the trade balance, and that should be positive for the AUD. 
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