Australian Trade Deficit Narrows as Coal Exports Rise

Australia’s trade deficit narrowed in March as iron ore, coal and wheat exports jumped, stoking an economic expansion in its 17th year.

The trade shortfall shrank to A$2.74 billion ($2.59 billion) from a record A$3.26 billion in February, the Bureau of Statistics said in Sydney today. The median estimate of 25 economists surveyed by Bloomberg was for a A$2.9 billion gap.
Rising exports will bolster Australia’s $1 trillion economy, which expanded at the slowest pace in a year in the fourth quarter because of a drop in resource shipments. Wheat production may almost double from a year earlier amid surging prices and higher rainfall, a report forecast today. The government also predicts overseas sales of raw materials will increase by the most in three decades over the coming 12 months, driven by demand from China.

Bloomberg