Australia's trade surplus widened in June to come in at $11.3bn, driven by a fall in imports. Exports also declined in the month, with lower commodity prices a key factor. Services trade remains robust as the post-pandemic recovery continues.
International Trade — June | By the numbers
- Australia's trade surplus widened to $11.3bn in June (vs $10.8bn exp) from $10.5bn in May (revised from $10.3bn).
- Export values declined by 1.7% in the month to $55.6bn - a partial unwind of May's 3.2% rise - to be down 10.8% on a year ago.
- Import spending contracted by 3.9%m/m to $44.3bn (0.3%yr), which followed a 3.5% lift in May.
International Trade — June | The details
June's trade surplus of $11.3bn was the largest in the second quarter following surpluses of $10.3bn in April and $10.5bn in May. Collectively, that put the trade surplus at $32.1bn in the June quarter, narrowing from $39.4bn in the March quarter.
Exports declined by 3.7% in the quarter, easing from around record highs as commodity prices weakened. Import spending lifted modestly (0.6%q/q) on increased consumption goods spending.
In the month of June, export earnings fell by 1.7%, the weakness coming through from non-rural (-3%) and rural goods (-1.2%) that partly reflects the effect of lower commodity prices. Non-rural goods exports are down around 19% from their peak 12 months ago, with coal exports contracting 43% over the period. The value of rural goods exports has fallen by 6.3% on a year ealier on broad-based declines across cereals (-3.8%), wool (-15.2%) and rural products (-10.8%). Services exports rose 2.1% to be up 48.7% on 12 months ago, the post-pandemic recovery seeing inbound travel doubling over the period.
Import values in June fell by 3.9% on a rollback in consumption goods (-12.4%), with declines also posted by intermediate (-3.4%) and capital goods (-1.1%). The large fall in consumption goods was associated with an unwind of vehicle imports (-32.6%) after they had surged in May (28.7%). Fuel imports dipped a further 1.4% in June to be down by almost a third on their peak from September last year, weighing on intermediate goods. Services trade was 2.4% higher in June (13%yr); overseas travel saw a notable bump (13%m/m) amid the peak summer season in Europe.
International Trade — June | Insights
Another robust trade surplus was posted in June, though the underlying detail was soft with both exports and imports declining in the month. Nonetheless, export earnings remain near record highs while imports are also at elevated levels.