Australia records biggest ever trade surplus

Tuesday 5 October 2021

The ABS today released trade data for August, with Australia recording its biggest ever trade surplus of $15.1 billion, up $2.4 billion on July:

Exports rose $1.9 billion (4%) to $48.5 billion, whereas imports fell $0.5 billion (1%) to $33.4 billion.

The next chart from Shane Oliver neatly summarises the movements:

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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.