Australia Balance of Trade

Last Release

May 31, 2025

Actual

2,238

Units In

AUD Million

6,900

Frequency

Monthly

Next Release

Aug 07, 2025

Time to Release

1 Months 1 Days 22 Hours

Highest	Lowest	Average	Date Range	Source
17,670 Jun 2022	-4,033 Dec 2015	532.41 AUD Million	1971-2025	Australian Bureau of Statistics

In 2017 and 2018 Australia recorded trade surpluses mostly due to rise in a resource exports like natural gas, metal ores and minerals, coal, coke and briquettes and rural goods such as meat and cereals. The biggest trade surpluses are recorded with China, Hong Kong and Japan and New Zealand and the biggest trade deficits with the United States, Singapore, South Korea, Malaysia and Thailand. .

Latest Updates

Australia’s trade surplus in goods narrowed to AUD 2.24 billion in May 2025, down sharply from a downwardly revised AUD 4.86 billion in April and well below market expectations of AUD 5.0 billion. This marked the smallest trade surplus since August 2020, as exports declined while imports increased. Exports fell by 2.7% month-over-month to a three-month low of AUD 42.40 billion, following a downwardly revised 1.7% drop in April. The decline was driven in part by a 5.5% fall in shipments to the United States, impacted by tariffs imposed under the Trump administration. In contrast, exports to China—Australia’s top trading partner—rose by 1.9%. By commodity category, exports declined for rural goods (-3.5%), non-rural goods (-2.4%), and non-monetary gold (-3.4%). Meanwhile, imports rose by 3.8% to a record high of AUD 40.16 billion, accelerating from an upwardly revised 1.6% increase in April, mainly driven by stronger demand for capital goods.