The brief, four months of trade surplus late last year and in early 2014, sparked by higher iron ore prices and exports, as well as a fall in imports of capital goods, helped the Australian trade account rebound more than $14 billion, into surplus in the year to June 30.
And for that we can thank China, once again, and its voracious appetite for Australian iron ore and other commodities.
Exports to China soared to top the $US100 billion mark for the first time, up 29% on the year before when they totalled $77.9 billion.
The trade balance with China was a huge surplus of $50.18 billion, up 15% or so from the previous year’s $44.5 billion.
Figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics revealed that trade account finished the 2013-14 financial year more than $8.2 billion in the black, up from the deficit of $6.47 billion in the 2012-13 financial year.
The ABS said exports rose 10.2% in the year to June to $274.4 billion, up from $248.9 billion the previous year (which was a sharp fall from the $265 billion reported in 2011-12 and boosted by the record prices for iron ore and coal after the floods in Queensland earlier in 2011).
Imports rose 4.2% to $266.1 billion in the year to June 30, up from $255.3 billion in 2012-13, and $257.5 million in 29011-12.
In the year to June, general merchandise exports rose nearly 12% overall, with non-rural exports (such as ores – up 22% and fuels, up 10.9%) rose 12.4%, and rural exports were up just under 10%.
The value of coal exports in 2013-14 were only up 3.4%. Exports of transport goods jumped 17.6% in the year.
Imports saw an 8.4% rise in consumer goods to $82.1 billion in the year to June, while the value of imports of capital goods fell a massive 26% to $11.36 billion, from $15.4 billion in 2012-13.
The ABS said that imports of fuels and lubricants rose 9% to $42.3 billion. Food and beverage imports rose 16.4%, while imports of textiles, clothing and footwear jumped 12.8%.
Looking at the components of the export side of the trade balance – the value of iron ore shipments jumped to nearly $76 billion, from just over $57 billion, a rise of 33%. It was also much higher than the previous high of $62.7 million set in the 2011-12 financial year.
Coal exports were valued at $40.6 billion, from $38.6 billion. 2013-14’s coal exports were still well below the record $47.9 billion set in 2011-12 in the wake of the Queensland floods and the global record prices for coking and thermal coals .
Exports on LNG rose to $16.4 billion in the year to June, from $14.2 billion the previous year.
Besides China, we also had a trade surplus with Japan ($30 billion) and South Korea ($9.1 billion).
In the month of June, the ABS recorded an estimated deficit of $1.683 billion.
That followed a deficit of $2.043 billion in May (revised up from the previously reported $1.911 billion).
Economists had expected a deficit of $2 billion.
Exports were flat, while imports fell 1.0%, according to the ABS.
And the deficits for June, May and April will cut economic growth in the June quarter.
