5302.0 - Balance of Payments and International Investment Position, Australia, Mar 2015 Quality Declaration 
ARCHIVED ISSUE Released at 11:30 AM (CANBERRA TIME) 02/06/2015   
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MEDIA RELEASE
2 June 2015
Embargo: 11.30 am (Canberra time)
65/2015
Increase in current account deficit

Latest Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) figures show that in seasonally adjusted, current price terms, the current account deficit increased $502m (five per cent) to $10,741m in the March quarter 2015. Exports of goods and services rose $1,564m (two per cent) and imports of goods and services rose $2,557m (three per cent). The primary income deficit fell $434m (six per cent).

In seasonally adjusted, chain volume terms, the net goods and services surplus rose $1,816m (24 per cent) to $9,273m in the March quarter 2015. This is expected to contribute 0.5 percentage points to growth in the March quarter 2015 volume measure of Gross Domestic Product.

Australia's net IIP liability position was $878.4b as at 31 March 2015, an increase of $11.7b (one per cent) on the 31 December 2014 position of $866.7b. Australia's net foreign debt liability increased $27.6b (three per cent) to a net liability position of $954.7b. Australia's net foreign equity increased $15.9b (26 per cent) to a net asset position of $76.3b at 31 March 2015.

Further details can be found in Balance of Payments and International Investment Position, Australia (cat. no. 5302.0) available for download from the ABS website – https://www.abs.gov.au.

Media notes: