Cyclones and heavy monsoonal rains stripped $1.5 billion off mineral exports earnings in the first three months of the year, according to the Australian Bureau of Resource and Agricultural Economics(ABARE)
In its March quarter Minerals Statistics report, released yesterday, ABARE noted that export earnings from mineral resources fell 5.5 per cent compared with the previous quarter, to $25.5 billion.
"These decreased earnings mainly reflect decreased volumes resulting from factors such as adverse weather conditions, unplanned downtime and maintenance," ABARE's executive director Philip Glyde said in the report.
There were both cyclonic conditions in Western Australia and heavy monsoonal conditions in the Northern Territory during the quarter.
That chimes with reports from the likes of BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto which both reported delays to iron ore exports.
Woodside reported delays and disruption to gas and LNG production and shipments and Newcrest, which said it encountered delays at its huge Telfer gold mine in WA in February.
ERA will report a loss and faces over a year of lower shipments because of the rain and flooding at its Ranger uranium mine in the Northern Territory.
The report also confirms the evidence in our trade performance statisticsin the first half which were lower than expected.
However, ABARE said that despite this, exports earnings were still 16 per cent higher in the March quarter than the same quarter of 2006.
ABARE said exports of iron ore and pellets suffered the most (because it is the dominant export in the region), down 12 per cent, or $496 million, to $3.5 billion.
(That will be helpful for analysts crunching the numbers for the BHP Billton final profit in August and the Rio half year at the same time).
Other commodities to record significant declines in export earnings in the quarter were alumina, down $292 million or 17 per cent to $1.4 billion; zinc, down $225 million or 18 per cent, to $1 billion and copper, off 10 per cent, or $175 million, to $1.5 billion.
Crude oil and LNG exports fell by seven and nine per cent respectively.
On the positive side, ABARE said refined gold export earnings rose seven per cent, or $161 million to $2.5 billion, nickel exports were up $150 million, or seven per cent, to $2.2 billion, while aluminium exports rose $62 million to $1.4 billion.
Lead and black steaming coal exports also rose by seven and one per cent respectively.
Overall, ABARE said its index of export prices fell one per cent in the March quarter compared with the December quarter, but jumped six per cent compared to the March quarter of last year.
ABARE said higher world prices for mineral commodities, which jumped by an annual 21 per cent, more than offset a decline in energy commodities prices, which were down 12 per cent on the year.
……………This is what ABARE reported:
Almost two-thirds of Australia's major minerals and energy commodities recorded production decreases in the March quarter 2007 compared with the December quarter 2006.
Substantial decreases in production of minerals and energy commodities occurred for diamonds (56 per cent), leucoxene concentrate (42 per cent), refined tin (30 per cent), uranium oxide and other petroleum refinery products (both 22 per cent), refined lead (20 per cent) and refined nickel class 1 (18 per cent).
Other significant decreases occurred for crude oil and condensate and salt (both 13 per cent), aviation turbine fuel (12 per cent), and refinery LPG and tin mine production (both 11 per cent).
Production decreases of 5-10 per cent were recorded for zinc mine, naturally occurring LPG, refined zinc, iron ore and concentrate, natural gas, intermediate nickel, gold mine, nickel mine, automotive gasoline and alumina.
Minerals and energy commodities for which production rose significantly were refined nickel class 2 (up 67 per cent), silver mine (39 per cent), blister copper (17 per cent) and refined copper (13 per cent).
