Australia finished the 2023-24 financial year with a goods export surplus that was half the size of what it was at the start of last July.
Despite a small increase in the surplus in June, according to Australian Bureau of Statistics data, the overall trend was downward. This slight improvement was driven by increased exports of farm goods and liquefied natural gas.
The ABS reported that the goods balance rose to $5.59 billion, up from a revised $5.05 billion in May and exceeding market forecasts of A$5.0 billion. Exports increased by 1.7% from the previous month, primarily due to gains in commodities, while imports rose by 0.5% from the previous month, mainly driven by capital goods including aircraft.
The June surplus of $5.59 billion was significantly lower than the $9.868 billion surplus in June 2023 (and even lower than the $10 billion surplus in May 2023). The peak monthly surplus for the 2023-24 financial year occurred in November, reaching $11.758 billion.
Total exports for the year ended at $43.765 billion, down from $45.02 billion in June 2023 and the financial year peak of $46.607 billion in August. Imports for the financial year totaled $38.176 billion, up from $35.152 billion in June 2023 and a peak of $39.308 billion in March of this year.