Australia: Trade surplus narrowed in October – Westpac

Andrew Hanlan, analyst at Westpac, notes that in October, the trade surplus narrowed to $4.5bn, down from $6.8bn (downgraded from $7.2bn) and was below expectations (market median $6.5bn and Westpac $6.3bn).

Key Quotes

“Exports moderated, declining by -5.1% (-$2.2bn). That was a sharper than expected fall (f/c -$1.2bn).”

“The drop in exports was likely due to a combination of lower prices and reduced volumes in the month.”

“Imports edged higher (+$0.1), whereas we anticipated a small decline (f/c -$0.3bn).”

“The trade surplus is in descent from the June peak – a record high of $7.9bn – which was associated with the temporary spike in the iron ore price that was largely due to the tailing dam disaster in Brazil.”