Australia: Trade account likely moved into surplus of $4.0bn in March - Westpac

The research team at Westpac suggests that Australia's trade account has moved well into surplus as a spike in commodity prices boosts export earnings and for March, they expect a surplus of $4.0bn, a $0.4bn improvement on February.

Key Quotes

“Export earnings rise a forecast $0.8bn, +2.5%. While partial indicators for the month are mixed we see the potential for a boost from upward revisions to history. Notably, goods export prices rose 9.4% in the quarter, suggesting that the monthly export results to date look a little understated.”

“For imports, we've factored in a rise of 1.5%, $0.4bn. Recall imports were brought forward into January (+3.7%) ahead of a Lunar new year disrupted February (-5.3%).”