Australia’s trade surplus rebounds in April

Australia’s trade surplus on goods rebounded in April due to a significant decline in imports, following several months of import growth, Reuters cited data released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics on Thursday.

The report revealed a trade surplus of A$6.5 billion ($4.34 billion) in April, surpassing market expectations of A$5.4 billion. This represents an improvement from the downwardly revised A$4.8 billion surplus recorded in March.

Despite the surplus increase, export values fell 2.5 per cent in April, reaching their lowest level since late 2021. This decline was attributed to lower prices and volumes for iron ore and coal, key Australian exports.

The primary driver of the surplus rebound was a sharp 7.2 per cent decrease in imports. This decline was broad-based, encompassing sectors such as computing equipment, clothing, and processed industrial supplies.