The goods and services surplus of Australia beat analyst expectations in March, increasing by 1.9 billion Australian dollars to 9.3 billion Australian dollars (~$6.76 billion) and reaching a record high, according to a report by the country's Bureau of Statistics on Wednesday.
Exports in March amounted to 44.7 billion Australian dollars (~$32.4 billion), marking an approximately zero percent change from February, while imports reached 34.3 billion Australian dollars (~$24.9 billion), decreasing $1.9 billion Australian dollars ($1.4 billion) or 5% compared to the figures recorded in the previous month.
The 5% fall in goods and services imports was reported as driven by a decline in the importing of processed industrial supplies and consumption goods, while the goods and services exports stagnation was attributed to decreased exporting of non-monetary gold, cereal grains and cereal preparations.
