— Citi
The Australian trade balance shrunk more than expected in the third month of the year, official figures revealed on Thursday. According the Australian Bureau of Statistics the country's trade surplus narrowed to A$3.11B in March from the prior month's revised up surplus of A$3.66B. Meanwhile, market analysts anticipated a slighter fall to A$3.33B during the reported month. On an annual basis, the nation's trade surplus dropped 15%, or A$550M in March. Thursday's data showed that exports rose 2%, or A$776M, on a monthly basis to A$33.34B. Also, imports rose 5%, or A$1.33B, month-over-month to A$30.24B. Imports of capital goods climbed 3%, suggesting that retailers started making investment in expanding output. However, the March drop was mainly driven by a 39% fall in exports of non-monetary gold. Nevertheless, non-monetary gold exports are highly volatile month-to-month. Therefore, analysts said that we would likely see a rebound in the near future. Moreover, the December massive jump was mainly driven by the sharp rebound in commodity prices and strong demand for iron ore in China. export growth.
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