5368.0 - International Trade in Goods and Services, Australia, Apr 2016 Quality Declaration 
ARCHIVED ISSUE Released at 11:30 AM (CANBERRA TIME) 02/06/2016   
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ANALYSIS AND COMMENTS

BALANCE ON GOODS AND SERVICES

In trend terms, the balance on goods and services was a deficit of $1,943m in April 2016, a decrease of $434m (18%) on the deficit in March 2016.

In seasonally adjusted terms, the balance on goods and services was a deficit of $1,579m in April 2016, a decrease of $392m (20%) on the deficit in March 2016.

GOODS AND SERVICES SUMMARY(a), Seasonally Adjusted and Trend

Change in:
Feb 2016
Mar 2016
Apr 2016
Apr 2016
Apr 2016
$m
$m
$m
$m
%

Seasonally Adjusted

BALANCE on goods and services
-2 875
-1 971
-1 579
392
20
CREDITS
Total goods and services
25 541
26 563
26 734
171
1
Total goods
19 432
20 319
20 392
73
-
Rural goods(b)
3 423
3 360
3 517
157
5
Non-rural goods(b)
14 840
15 131
14 907
-224
-1
Net exports of goods under merchanting(c)
40
39
37
-2
-5
Non-monetary gold(c)
1 130
1 789
1 930
141
8
Total services
6 109
6 244
6 342
98
2
DEBITS
Total goods and services
-28 416
-28 535
-28 313
-222
-1
Total goods
-21 853
-21 863
-21 630
-233
-1
Consumption goods
-8 122
-7 934
-8 004
70
1
Capital goods
-5 013
-5 096
-4 797
-299
-6
Intermediate and other merchandise goods
-8 345
-8 338
-8 402
64
1
Non-monetary gold(c)
-372
-494
-427
-67
-14
Total services
-6 563
-6 672
-6 683
11
-

Trend(d)

BALANCE on goods and services
-2 790
-2 377
-1 943
434
18
CREDITS
Total goods and services
25 810
26 002
26 290
288
1
Total goods
19 666
19 769
19 984
215
1
Rural goods(b)
3 514
3 472
3 441
-31
-1
Non-rural goods(b)
14 650
14 678
14 797
119
1
Net exports of goods under merchanting
40
39
38
-1
-3
Non-monetary gold
1 461
1 579
1 709
130
8
Total services
6 144
6 233
6 306
73
1
DEBITS
Total goods and services
-28 600
-28 379
-28 234
-145
-1
Total goods
-21 930
-21 709
-21 569
-140
-1
Consumption goods
-7 963
-7 969
-7 995
26
-
Capital goods
-5 069
-4 955
-4 869
-86
-2
Intermediate and other merchandise goods
-8 504
-8 374
-8 270
-104
-1
Non-monetary gold
-394
-411
-435
24
6
Total services
-6 670
-6 670
-6 665
-5
-

- nil or rounded to zero (including null cells)
(a) For sign conventions, see paragraph 15 of the Explanatory Notes.
(b) For all time periods, estimates for sugar, sugar preparations and honey are included in Non-rural goods.
(c) This component is not seasonally adjusted.
(d) Caution should be used when interpreting recent trend estimates as they may be affected by unusual economic factors. For more details on trend estimates, see paragraph 19 of the Explanatory Notes.



EXPORTS OF GOODS AND SERVICES

Between March and April 2016, the trend estimate of goods and services credits rose $288m (1%) to $26,290m.

In seasonally adjusted terms, goods and services credits rose $171m (1%) to $26,734m. Rural goods rose $157m (5%) and non-monetary gold rose $141m (8%). Non-rural goods fell $224m (1%) and net exports of goods under merchanting fell $2m (5%). Services credits rose $98m (2%).


Exports of goods
GOODS CREDITS
Graph: This graph shows the Trend and Seasonally adjusted estimate for Goods Credits

GOODS CREDITS, Seasonally Adjusted

Change in:
Feb 2016
Mar 2016
Apr 2016
Apr 2016
Apr 2016
$m
$m
$m
$m
%

Total goods credits
19 432
20 319
20 392
73
-
General merchandise
18 262
18 491
18 425
-66
-
Rural goods
3 423
3 360
3 517
157
5
Meat and meat preparations
959
952
953
1
-
Cereal grains and cereal preparations
590
556
605
49
9
Wool and sheepskins
274
273
276
3
1
Other rural(a)
1 600
1 579
1 684
105
7
Non-rural goods
14 840
15 131
14 907
-224
-1
Metal ores and minerals
5 458
5 820
5 771
-49
-1
Coal, coke and briquettes(b)
2 663
2 745
2 615
-130
-5
Other mineral fuels(c)
1 934
1 959
1 915
-44
-2
Metals (excl. non-monetary gold)
836
779
691
-88
-11
Machinery
873
844
872
28
3
Transport equipment
476
454
473
19
4
Other manufactures
1 570
1 537
1 602
65
4
Other non-rural (incl. sugar and beverages)(a)
912
871
844
-27
-3
Goods procured in ports by carriers(c)
116
122
124
2
2
Net exports of goods under merchanting(d)
40
39
37
-2
-5
Non-monetary gold(d)
1 130
1 789
1 930
141
8

- nil or rounded to zero (including null cells)
(a) For all time periods, estimates for sugar, sugar preparations and honey are included in Other non-rural.
(b) From July 1971 to June 2005, only a length-of-month adjustment has been applied to this component. From July 2005, this component is seasonally adjusted using seasonal factors derived from a monthly volume series.
(c) In using these seasonally adjusted series, care should be exercised because of the difficulties associated with reliably estimating the seasonal pattern.
(d) This component is not seasonally adjusted.


RURAL GOODS

In trend terms, exports of rural goods fell $31m (1%) to $3,441m.

In seasonally adjusted terms, exports of rural goods rose $157m (5%) to $3,517m.

The main components contributing to the rise in seasonally adjusted estimates were:
  • other rural, up $105m (7%)
  • cereal grains and cereal preparations, up $49m (9%).

NON-RURAL GOODS

In trend terms, exports of non-rural goods rose $119m (1%) to $14,797m.

In seasonally adjusted terms, exports of non-rural goods fell $224m (1%) to $14,907m.

The main components contributing to the fall in seasonally adjusted estimates were:
  • coal, coke and briquettes, down $130m (5%)
  • metals (excl. non-monetary gold), down $88m (11%)
  • metal ores and minerals, down $49m (1%).

Partly offsetting these falls was other manufactures, up $65m (4%).

For price and volume details, see the Selected commodities section.

NET EXPORTS OF GOODS UNDER MERCHANTING

In trend terms, net exports of goods under merchanting fell $1m (3%) to $38m.

In seasonally adjusted terms, net exports of goods under merchanting fell $2m (5%) to $37m.

NON-MONETARY GOLD

In trend terms, exports of non-monetary gold rose $130m (8%) to $1,709m.

In original and seasonally adjusted terms, exports of non-monetary gold rose $141m (8%) to $1,930m.


Exports of services
SERVICES CREDITS
Graph: This graph shows the Trend and Seasonally adjusted estimate for Services Credits

SERVICES CREDITS, Seasonally Adjusted

Change in:
Feb 2016
Mar 2016
Apr 2016
Apr 2016
Apr 2016
$m
$m
$m
$m
%

Seasonally Adjusted

Total services credits
6 109
6 244
6 342
98
2
Manufacturing services on physical inputs owned by others(a)
3
2
2
-
-
Maintenance and repair services n.i.e.(a)
3
2
4
2
100
Transport
597
602
611
9
1
Passenger(b)
253
256
250
-6
-2
Freight(c)
25
24
24
-
-
Other
228
229
236
7
3
Postal and courier services(d)
91
92
100
8
9
Travel
3 683
3 799
3 880
81
2
Other services
1 823
1 839
1 845
6
-
Memorandum item
Tourism related service credits(e)
3 936
4 055
4 130
75
2

- nil or rounded to zero (including null cells)
(a) This component is not seasonally adjusted.
(b) Passenger services includes agency fees and commissions for air transport.
(c) In using these seasonally adjusted series, care should be exercised because of the difficulties associated with reliably estimating the seasonal pattern.
(d) Postal and courier services includes indirect commissions for sea transport.
(e) For a more detailed explanation of tourism related services, see paragraph 29 of the Explanatory Notes.


In trend terms, service credits rose $73m (1%) to $6,306m.

In seasonally adjusted terms, services credits rose $98m (2%) to $6,342m.

The main component contributing to the rise in seasonally adjusted estimates was travel, up $81m (2%).

In seasonally adjusted terms, tourism related service credits rose $75m (2%) to $4,130m.

In seasonally adjusted terms, total services credits contributed 24% of total goods and services exported.


IMPORTS OF GOODS AND SERVICES

Between March and April 2016, the trend estimate of goods and services debits fell $145m (1%) to $28,234m.

In seasonally adjusted terms, goods and services debits fell $222m (1%) to $28,313m. Capital goods fell $299m (6%) and non-monetary gold fell $67m (14%). Consumption goods rose $70m (1%) and intermediate and other merchandise goods rose $64m (1%). Services debits rose $11m.


Imports of goods
GOODS DEBITS
Graph: This graph shows the Trend and Seasonally adjusted estimate for Goods Debits

GOODS DEBITS(a), Seasonally Adjusted

Change in:
Feb 2016
Mar 2016
Apr 2016
Apr 2016
Apr 2016
$m
$m
$m
$m
%

Total goods debits
-21 853
-21 863
-21 630
-233
-1
General merchandise
-21 481
-21 369
-21 203
-166
-1
Consumption goods
-8 122
-7 934
-8 004
70
1
Food and beverages, mainly for consumption
-1 230
-1 161
-1 212
51
4
Household electrical items
-529
-505
-505
-
-
Non-industrial transport equipment
-1 901
-1 940
-1 909
-31
-2
Textiles, clothing and footwear
-1 428
-1 358
-1 359
1
-
Toys, books and leisure goods
-504
-513
-501
-12
-2
Consumption goods n.e.s.
-2 531
-2 456
-2 518
62
3
Capital goods
-5 013
-5 096
-4 797
-299
-6
Machinery and industrial equipment
-1 716
-1 584
-1 677
93
6
ADP equipment
-700
-703
-719
16
2
Telecommunications equipment
-920
-886
-785
-101
-11
Civil aircraft and confidentialised items(b)(c)
-259
-230
-156
-74
-32
Industrial transport equipment n.e.s.
-877
-835
-737
-98
-12
Capital goods n.e.s.(d)
-541
-857
-722
-135
-16
Intermediate and other merchandise goods
-8 345
-8 338
-8 402
64
1
Food and beverages, mainly for industry
-144
-150
-157
7
5
Primary industrial supplies n.e.s.(d)
-161
-192
-136
-56
-29
Fuels and lubricants(c)
-1 430
-1 716
-2 010
294
17
Parts for transport equipment
-1 089
-990
-1 007
17
2
Parts for ADP equipment
-51
-50
-50
-
-
Other parts for capital goods
-1 321
-1 170
-1 189
19
2
Organic and inorganic chemicals
-353
-325
-320
-5
-2
Paper and paperboard
-218
-175
-199
24
14
Textile yarn and fabrics
-129
-121
-114
-7
-6
Iron and steel
-264
-229
-187
-42
-18
Plastics
-343
-320
-340
20
6
Processed industrial supplies n.e.s.
-2 713
-2 738
-2 559
-179
-7
Other merchandise goods(b)(e)
-25
-57
-34
-23
-40
Goods procured in ports by carriers(c)
-104
-104
-100
-4
-4
Non-monetary gold(c)
-372
-494
-427
-67
-14

- nil or rounded to zero (including null cells)
(a) For sign conventions, see paragraph 15 of the Explanatory Notes.
(b) From July 2008, commodities subject to a 'no commodity details' or 'no value details' restriction are included in Civil aircraft and confidentialised items. For earlier periods, commodities subject to a 'no commodity details' or 'no value details' restriction are included in Other merchandise goods.
(c) This component is not seasonally adjusted.
(d) In using these seasonally adjusted series, care should be exercised because of the difficulties associated with reliably estimating the seasonal pattern.
(e) From July 1981, this component is not seasonally adjusted.


CONSUMPTION GOODS

In trend terms, imports of consumption goods rose $26m to $7,995m.

In seasonally adjusted terms, imports of consumption goods rose $70m (1%) to $8,004m.

The main components contributing to the rise in seasonally adjusted estimates were:
  • consumption goods n.e.s., up $62m (3%)
  • food and beverages, mainly for consumption, up $51m (4%).

Partly offsetting these rises was non-industrial transport equipment, down $31m (2%).

CAPITAL GOODS

In trend terms, imports of capital goods fell $86m (2%) to $4,869m.

In seasonally adjusted terms, imports of capital goods fell $299m (6%) to $4,797m.

The main components contributing to the fall in seasonally adjusted estimates were:
  • capital goods n.e.s., down $135m (16%)
  • telecommunications equipment, down $101m (11%)
  • industrial transport equipment n.e.s., down $98m (12%)
  • civil aircraft and confidentialised items, down $74m (32%).

Partly offsetting these falls was machinery and industrial equipment, up $93m (6%).

INTERMEDIATE AND OTHER MERCHANDISE GOODS

In trend terms, imports of intermediate and other merchandise goods fell $104m (1%) to $8,270m.

In seasonally adjusted terms, imports of intermediate and other merchandise goods rose $64m (1%) to $8,402m.

The main component contributing to the rise in seasonally adjusted estimates was fuels and lubricants, up $294m (17%).

Partly offsetting this rise were:
  • processed industrial supplies n.e.s., down $179m (7%)
  • primary industrial supplies n.e.s., down $56m (29%).

NON-MONETARY GOLD

In trend terms, imports of non-monetary gold rose $24m (6%) to $435m.

In original and seasonally adjusted terms, imports of non-monetary gold fell $67m (14%) to $427m.


Imports of services
SERVICES DEBITS
Graph: This graph shows the Trend and Seasonally adjusted estimate for Services Debits

SERVICES DEBITS(a), Seasonally Adjusted

Change in:
Feb 2016
Mar 2016
Apr 2016
Apr 2016
Apr 2016
$m
$m
$m
$m
%

Seasonally Adjusted

Total services debits
-6 563
-6 672
-6 683
11
-
Manufacturing services on physical inputs owned by others(b)
-
-
-
-
-
Maintenance and repair services n.i.e.(b)
-42
-70
-90
20
29
Transport
-1 373
-1 369
-1 344
-25
-2
Passenger(c)
-525
-527
-518
-9
-2
Freight
-774
-765
-752
-13
-2
Other(b)
-68
-70
-66
-4
-6
Postal and courier services(d)(e)
-6
-7
-8
1
14
Travel
-2 727
-2 807
-2 830
23
1
Other services
-2 420
-2 426
-2 419
-7
-
Memorandum item
Tourism related service debits(f)
-3 253
-3 334
-3 348
14
-

- nil or rounded to zero (including null cells)
(a) For sign conventions, see paragraph 15 of the Explanatory Notes.
(b) This component is not seasonally adjusted.
(c) Passenger services includes agency fees and commissions for air transport.
(d) Postal and courier services includes indirect commissions for sea transport.
(e) In using these seasonally adjusted series, care should be exercised because of the difficulties associated with reliably estimating the seasonal pattern.
(f) For a more detailed explanation of tourism related services, see paragraph 29 of the Explanatory Notes.


In trend terms, services debits fell $5m to $6,665m.

In seasonally adjusted terms, services debits rose $11m to $6,683m.

The main components contributing to the rise in seasonally adjusted estimates were:
  • travel, up $23m (1%)
  • maintenance and repair services n.i.e., up $20m (29%).

Partly offsetting these rises was transport, down $25m (2%).

In seasonally adjusted terms, tourism related services debits rose $14m to $3,348m.

In seasonally adjusted terms, total services debits contributed 24% of total goods and services imported.


Selected commodities

Selected commodities, Quantity and unit value analysis - International merchandise trade basis(a): Original terms

Change in
Nov 2015
Dec 2015
Jan 2016
Feb 2016
Mar 2016
Apr 2016
%
%
%
%
%
%

Iron ore

Lump
Quantity
-9
5
-18
16
2
-7
Unit value
-13
-12
9
8
12
2
Fines
Quantity
-
4
-14
7
9
-2
Unit value
-9
-13
2
7
12
2

Coal

Hard coking
Quantity
4
-5
4
-17
11
5
Unit value
-1
-4
3
-2
p-1
p-3
Semi-soft
Quantity
-2
-1
-1
-26
53
-14
Unit value
-1
-3
3
-1
p-6
p2
Thermal
Quantity
-4
10
-10
-3
4
-6
Unit value
-3
-3
-1
-
-7
-1

Gas

LNG
Quantity
-2
11
-2
3
12
-8
Unit value
-2
-6
-1
-5
-9
-8

- nil or rounded to zero (including null cells)
p preliminary figure or series subject to revision
(a) Data in this table are on a revised international merchandise trade basis and exclude value adjustments applied to balance of payments series.


International merchandise trade exports data presented in the above table are based on information reported by exporters to the Department of Immigration and Border Protection (DIBP). For commodities such as iron ore and coal, newly negotiated contract prices are not fully reflected in data first reported to DIBP. Final quantity and/or unit price information is updated progressively in international merchandise trade data as exporters revise the information provided to DIBP. When additional information for these commodities is available, the ABS may adjust the data to reflect actual transaction values.

Unit values in this publication are presented in Australian dollar terms. Movements in the unit values for some commodities incorporate movements in the United States dollar prices reported to DIBP and movements in the Australian dollar to United States dollar exchange rate.

On an international merchandise trade basis, in original terms (noting the footnote in the above table), between March and April 2016 the largest movements recorded for the following selected commodities were:

Iron ore lump, down $54m (5%), with quantities down 7% and unit values up 2%. Exports to:
  • Japan fell $79m (40%), with quantities down 34% and unit values down 8%
  • the Republic of Korea rose $23m (70%), with quantities up 91% and unit values down 11%.

Iron ore fines, up $7m, with quantities down 2% and unit values up 2%. Exports to:
  • China (excluding SARs and Taiwan) rose $130m (5%), with quantities up 1% and unit values up 4%
  • Japan fell $94m (37%), with quantities down 28% and unit values down 12%
  • the Republic of Korea fell $37m (18%), with quantities down 13% and unit values down 5%.

Hard coking coal, up $18m (2%), with quantities up 5% and unit values down 3%. Exports to:
  • Netherlands rose $27m (77%), with quantities up 74% and unit values up 2%
  • India rose $25m (10%), with quantities up 10%
  • Japan rose $18m (12%), with quantities up 14% and unit values down 2%
  • China (excluding SARs and Taiwan) fell $84m (30%), with quantities down 24% and unit values down 7%.

Semi-soft coal, down $74m (13%), with quantities down 14% and unit values up 2%. Exports to:
  • the Republic of Korea fell $40m (30%), with quantities down 29% and unit values down 2%
  • India fell $15m (16%), with quantities down 28% and unit values up 17%
  • China (excluding SARs and Taiwan) fell $15m (16%), with quantities down 15% and unit values down 2%.

Thermal coal, down $76m (7%), with quantities down 6% and unit values down 1%. Exports to:
  • Japan fell $35m (8%), with quantities down 6% and unit values down 2%
  • Taiwan fell $20m (14%), with quantities down 11% and unit values down 3%
  • Thailand fell $15m (34%), with quantities down 23% and unit values down 14%.

Liquefied natural gas (LNG), down $221m (15%), with quantities down 8% and unit values down 8%.