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Western Australia’s Department of Treasury has upgraded its forecast for the state’s 2020-21 Budget surplus to $3.1 billion, compared with expectations in December of just $2.2 billion.
The state’s improved fiscal position has been driven by continued strong demand for iron ore, with Treasury forecasting that the price of the steel input will average US 134.30 a tonne, including freight.
Its December forecasts were based on an iron ore price of $US 103.70 per tonne:
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About the author
Leith van Onselen is Chief Economist at the MB Fund and MB Super. He is also a co-founder of MacroBusiness.
Leith has previously worked at the Australian Treasury, Victorian Treasury and Goldman Sachs.