Australia sees international trade deficit slump in October

Imports and Exports | | MIC Customs Solutions |

Australia has seen a slump in its international trade performance during October 2015, with the weakness of the Chinese market a key factor.


Australia's international trade performance took a hit during October 2015, according to the country's latest official data.

The nation's international trade deficit grew by 38 percent to AU$3.3 billion (£1.62 billion) - the largest monthly trade deficit since the $3.5 billion deficit in June this year, which was amplified by poor weather, and the fifth-largest on record.

This was driven by an AU$829 million drop in exports, with imports remaining flat during the same period, and confounded expectations of a result in line with September's $2.4 billion seasonally-adjusted deficit.

An unexpectedly poor performance in the value of commodity shipments was a key cause of this, with both prices and volumes showing weakness, and the ongoing slowdown of the key Chinese market also playing a role.

Tom Kennedy of JP Morgan said: "Australia's monthly port data indicates October's unimpressive export growth was a combination of both price and volume weakness, and is consistent with the idea that the bumper net trade contribution in yesterday's GDP data is unlikely to be repeated."