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Australia's trade surplus did not live up to expectations in April, when its sixteenth consecutive month was down.
The country recorded a seasonally adjusted balance of goods and services of 4.87 billion Australian dollars ($ 3.4 billion), according to the Australian Bureau Statistics released Thursday. That was lower than the $ 4.95 billion surplus in March and lower than the forecast of $ 5.1 billion Australian in a poll of Reuters.
Exports of goods and services increased 2% seasonally adjusted, while non-monetary gold exports increased by A $ 272 million, or 20%, while rural goods fell by 2%. Imports increased by 3%.
Ben Udy, an Australian and New Zealander economist at Capital Economics, said commodity price swings had probably played a role in lowering the trade surplus, as rising prices for iron ore were higher. offset by lower coal prices.
"We expect the rise in iron ore prices to decrease as supply increases, which will weigh on the trade surplus in the coming months. In any case, the weakness of the Australian dollar should support export volumes for some time, which means that net trade will likely continue to contribute positively to real GDP growth for the rest of the year. 2019, "said Udy.
Figures released Wednesday showed that the Australian economy had the slowest growth in almost a decade in the first quarter, as household consumption dropped. The Reserve Bank of Australia has lowered rates to record levels this week to support growth and lower inflation towards its goal.
The Australian dollar was a little lower at $ 0.6965.
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