Australia Posts First Trade Deficit in 11 Months on Exports
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Australia recorded a trade deficit in January, its first in 11 months, as weaker shipments of iron ore and coal contributed to the biggest drop in total exports in almost three years. The local currency fell.
Imports outpaced exports by A$673 million ($715 million), from a revised A$1.33 billion surplus in December, the Bureau of Statistics said in a report in Sydney today. It was the biggest shortfall since March 2010. The median estimate in a Bloomberg News survey of 24 economists was for a surplus of A$1.5 billion.