Australia: Trade surplus prints $A460m for July - TDS

Analysts at TDS note that Australia’s Jul Trade Balance surplus was registered at $A460m (TD $A635m, mkt $A1b), where imports and exports both fell.

Key Quotes

“Exports of gold fell 17%, while iron ore and coal fell 2%. These numbers are not catastrophic but we expect a decent bounce next report given the jump in prices. Exports by country rose in China, but big falls in exports to Korea and Japan due to weakness in coal prices. Imports from Korea jumped from $1b to $9b due to the imported LNG plant. Retail sales were flat (mkt +0.2%), with household goods -1.7%, department stores -2.8% and clothing/ footwear -0.2% after a strong Q2.”