Investing.com – Australia’s commercial balance grew well above expectations in March, since imports fell and exports increased before the expected announcement of US tariffs this month.
The commercial balance grew to a surplus of 6,900 million Australian dollars in March, well above the expectations of a surplus of 3,230 million Australian dollars, and compared to the 2,970 million Australian dollars registered the previous month.
This reading was the highest since November 2024, according to the data of the Australian Statistics Office on Thursday.
The most solid result was mainly due to an increase of 7.6% monthly exports, with higher shipments of minerals and metals during the period.
Export prices rose, led by a 5.4% increase in iron ore due to a greater demand from China, while gold prices also rose 12.4% as global uncertainty grew, with central banks buying more gold.
The country, which is Australia’s largest commercial partner, hastened to import minerals and metals, before the expected announcements of US tariffs in April, which increased the fears of a global commercial war.
The weakness of the Australian dollar against USD raised both import and export prices this quarter, ABS reported.
The surplus was also driven by a decrease in imports.
Imports fell 2.2% monthly in March, in contrast to an increase of 1.8% in February. This was attributed to a lower demand for capital goods.
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