Australia's trade surplus widened from ($A) $4.9bn in December 2024 to $5.6bn in January 2025. Exports lifted by 1.3% over the month - their fourth consecutive rise - as the value of non-monetary gold exports surged to a new record high ($5.4bn). Imports were 0.3% softer, declining for the first time in 4 months.
The surplus on the goods trade account widened by around $0.7bn at the start of the year to $5.6bn in January. That is broadly in line with its 3-month average ($5.7bn) but has nearly halved from its level 12 months earlier ($10.1bn). That narrowing has been driven by a decline in exports, down 2.9% over the year alongside falling commodity prices, and a 7.4% rise in imports.
Monthly exports lifted by 1.3% to $44.5bn in January (-2.9%yr). This gain was overwhelming driven by non-monetary gold, the value of those exports up 78.6% on the prior month to $5.4bn, a new record high that eclipsed the previous peak from August 2023 by 34.9%. Trade price data from the ABS reported a 9.7% increase in gold prices in the final quarter of 2024 on rising demand for the commodity amid uncertainty in financial markets and in the real economy. Rural goods moved 0.7% higher in the month on rises in meat and cereal exports. Meanwhile, the value of non-rural goods was down 5.3% in January, its sharpest decline since April 2023. This occurred on weakness across iron ore (-4%), coal (-13.8%) and LNG (-4.9%).
Import spending weakened slightly by 0.3% in January to $38.9bn, up 7.2% across the previous 12 months. Intermediate goods were up 5.5% in the month, rebounding to be near record highs after rising oil prices and a weaker Australian dollar contributed to fuel imports lifting by 11.7% in January following a 14.4% increase in December. Both capital (-7.7%) and consumption goods (-0.6%) declined in January.
