Record shipments of iron ore in June have lifted Australia to a 30th monthly trade surplus in a row according to preliminary data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).
The ABS said the total value of exports and imports of goods both increased in June 2020 following falls in April and May as the impact of the lockdowns hit and oil prices and car imports slumped.
The preliminary June figures show that the value of exports increased by $2.35 billion or 8% driven by strong exports of iron ore.
That came at a time when global iron pre prices remained over $US100 a tonne.
Iron ore (lump and fines) rose 8% or $757 million to $9.92 billion, the highest monthly export value on record. Volumes also rose (as reports showing double-digit rises in sales in the June quarter from Rio Tinto and BHP confirm).
This pushed the total exports of iron ore for 2019-20 to over $100 billion, also a record and more than a quarter of Australia’s total goods exported for 2019-20.
The ABS said China was the main market for Australian iron ore exports accounting for 87% of all iron ore exported in 2019-20.
Adding to the increase in exports in June 2020 were shipments of non-monetary gold, up to $916 million or 67% to $2.29 billion, and petroleum, up to $208 million or 47% to $651 million.
The value of goods imported rose by $1.29 billion or 6% driven by increases in imports of petroleum products such as oil, petrol, and jet fuel, up to $341 million or 29% to $1.51 billion. This was the first increase in petroleum imports since December 2019.
It was also the first rise in imports for six months.
After falling in May, articles of apparel, including items of personal protective equipment (PPE), also increased significantly, up $332 million or 65% to $843 million. That reflected the efforts of the Federal and state governments to stockpile PPE material.
Imports of electrical machinery and appliances rose $271 million or 19% to a record high of $1.69 billion in June. That also reflects the boom in sales of home appliances and computers, especially laptops.
There was also a small increase in imports of road vehicles in June, up $54 million or 3% after the slump in May 2020.
The ABS said that while June’s road vehicle imports of $1.64 billion was up on May 2020, it was down 44% from June, 2019, pointing to the continuing weak demand for cars, light commercial and SUVs.
