Australia: Current account narrows further – ANZ

Analysts at ANZ note that Australia’s CAD narrowed to AUD2.9bn from a revised AUD6.3bn in Q4 (originally AUD7.2bn).

Key Quotes

“A further improvement in the trade balance drove the decrease in the CAD, coming in at a surplus of AUD13.6bn compared to AUD8.8bn in Q4. This offsets a deterioration in the income balance to a deficit of AUD16.0bn (from a deficit of AUD14.8bn in Q4).”

“Export volumes rose 1.0% q/q led by a 6.5% increase in rural goods.”

“Import volumes fell 0.1% q/q as a result of broadly offsetting changes.”

“The terms of trade rose by 3.1% q/q, reflecting the combination of a large rise in export prices (+2.7%) and a fall in import prices (-0.4%).”