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Trade and Investment
| Major Australian exports, 2009
(A$m) (e): |
| Coal |
39,397 |
| Iron ore & concentrates |
29,960 |
| Gold |
15,049 |
| Natural gas |
7,640 |
| Crude petroleum |
7,180 |
| Major Australian imports, 2009
(A$m) (e): |
| Crude petroleum |
12,281 |
| Passenger motor vehicles |
11,678 |
| Refined petroleum |
10,281 |
| Gold |
9,197 |
| Medicaments (incl veterinary) |
7,648 |
| Australian merchandise trade, 2009:
|
| Exports (A$m): |
196,239 |
| Imports (A$m): |
200,581 |
| Total trade (exports + imports) (A$m): |
396,820 |
| Australia's main export destinations,
2009 (e): |
| 1 China |
21.6% |
| 2 Japan |
19.5% |
| 3 Republic of Korea |
7.9% |
| 4 India |
7.4% |
| 5 United States |
4.9% |
| Australia's main import sources,
2009 (e): |
| 1 China |
17.8% |
| 2 United States (f) |
11.1% |
| 3 Japan |
8.3% |
| 4 Thailand |
5.8% |
| 5 Singapore |
5.6% |
| Australia's trade in services,
2009: |
| Exports of services (A$m): |
53,247 |
| Imports of services (A$m): |
53,760 |
| Services trade deficit (A$m): |
513 |
| Australia's investment links, as
at 31 Dec 2009: |
| Level of Australian investment abroad
(A$m): |
1,159,088 |
| Level of foreign investment in Australia
(A$m): |
1,927,716 |
(a) All recent data subject to revision;
(b) IMF forecast; [c] PPP is purchasing power parity;
(d) Total may not add due to rounding; (e) Merchandise
trade; (f) Excludes imports of aircraft after September
2008
Source:
Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Australia
National Accounts – March Quarter
2010
Gross Domestic Product (GDP) grew by 0.5
per cent in the March quarter to be 2.7 per cent higher
through the year.
Australians should take confidence from
another good outcome for an economy that has defied
recession with the help of stimulus and continues to
be one of the strongest in the developed world.
The positive outcome for the quarter provides
tentative signs that a self-sustaining private sector
recovery is in prospect, although growth still relies
on public infrastructure investment.
The Government's infrastructure investment
is continuing to support demand, providing necessary
targeted support to those parts of the economy where
it is most needed.
Other stimulus measures – such as
the payments to households and tax incentives for private
investment – which supported the broader economy
over the past year when global contractionary forces
were at their peak, are being unwound. The withdrawal
of stimulus is estimated to have subtracted around 0.1
of a percentage point from GDP growth in the March quarter.
Household consumption spending rose by
0.6 per cent in the quarter. This solid outcome reflects
Australia's strong employment outcomes and strengthening
incomes growth, which is sustaining consumption even
as the effects of the earlier fiscal and monetary stimulus
are unwound.
Dwelling investment declined by 1 per
cent in the quarter, with a substantial fall in new
and used dwelling investment, only partly offset by
a rise in alterations and additions.
New private business investment fell by
3.3 per cent in the quarter, with new machinery and
equipment investment falling by 6.2 per cent. This reflects
the unwind of the effects of the Small Business and
General Business Tax Break, which brought forward considerable
investment spending into the latter part of 2009.
Private non-residential building investment
fell further in the quarter and remains at a depressed
level. Without the substantial ongoing support provided
to the sector by the Building the Education Revolution
program, activity and employment in this sector would
be even lower. Engineering construction also declined
in the quarter, but activity remains at a high level
and there is considerable work in the pipeline that
will flow through in coming quarters.
Despite this weakness, prospects for business
investment are improving with business confidence at
high levels and profitability recovering. Corporate
gross operating surplus rose by 1.3 per cent in the
March quarter following strong growth in the December
quarter. Gross mixed income rose by 5.6 per cent in
the quarter and is now up by over 15 per cent over the
year, reflecting better outcomes for smaller businesses.
New public investment spending rose by
12.5 per cent in the March quarter, underpinned by a
sharp rise in state and local government investment.
The continuing strength of public investment –
up more than 40 per cent over the past year – has
been driven by the Government's stimulus investment,
particularly on education infrastructure.
The terms of trade rose by 4.2 per cent
in the quarter and further rises are in prospect. Import
volumes rose by 1.8 per cent in the quarter, in line
with the pickup in domestic spending. Export volumes
fell in the March quarter due to a temporary fall in
coal exports caused by cyclone activity and flooding
in Queensland. Other major export categories grew, and
with demand for commodities accelerating and export
prices expected to continue to rise, the prospects for
exports are very positive.
The solid growth in the economy and the
pickup in the terms of trade saw nominal GDP rise by
2.1 per cent in the quarter, to be up over 4 per cent
over the year.
Source: www.treasurer.gov.au
Updated: July 2010
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