Investing.com- Australia’s trade surplus widened sharply in February, supported by a rise in exports and a fall in imports, official data showed on Thursday.
The seasonally adjusted trade balance rose to A$5.69 billion ($3.94 billion), well above market expectations of A$2.81 billion and more than double January’s revised surplus of A$2.26 billion, according to Australian Bureau of Statistics data.
Exports rose 4.9% month over month, recovering from a 1.6% drop in January, driven largely by a sharp increase in shipments of non-monetary gold.
The ABS noted that gold exports increased almost 30% during the month, accounting for a significant portion of the overall gain.
Imports, meanwhile, fell 3.2% in February, reversing a 1.0% increase in the previous month. The decline was also led by non-monetary gold, along with a decline in capital goods imports.
Despite the strong overall numbers, export volumes of key commodities remained weak. Shipments of iron ore and coal declined during the month, while exports of liquefied natural gas also fell, signaling weaker underlying demand conditions.
The ABS noted that the February data had not yet been impacted by the conflict in the Middle East, and any potential effect is expected to appear in the March figures.
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