Australia produced some upbeat economic releases on Thursday, giving some welcome relief to the nation’s currency as the data bolsters the view that the Reserve Bank of Australia would keep rates steady for now and will not lower them further.
According to Australia’s statistics bureau, the economy reported its biggest trade surplus in 2 years in December as a result of exports exceeding imports by $468 million. Exports rose 4% in December, while imports rose 2%.
The data surprised analysts who had forecast a deficit of $200 million. Adding to the upbeat news, the November trade deficit was revised to show a surplus of $83 million from a negative balance of $118 million.
The big surprise was that China contributed to the jump in shipments abroad since exports to China recorded the largest increase on record to $94.5 billion in 2013. The data is important because China is Australia’s major export destination.
A separate report showed Australia’s retail sales volumes rose in December by 0.5%, in line with economists’ expectations, after a 0.7% rise in November. Today’s figure was taken positively since any lower-than-forecast figure would have been discouraging news. The retail sector has been improving over the past few months, after a fairly subdued 2013, giving optimism that consumer spending was helping revive the economy from a cooling mining boom.
The Australian dollar rose to a near 1-month high after today’s data, hitting as high as 0.8979.
Australia produced some upbeat economic releases on Thursday, giving some welcome relief to the nation’s currency as the data bolsters the view that the Reserve Bank of Australia would keep rates steady for now and will not lower them further.
According to Australia’s statistics bureau, the economy reported its biggest trade surplus in 2 years in December as a result of exports exceeding imports by $468 million. Exports rose 4% in December, while imports rose 2%.
The data surprised analysts who had forecast a deficit of $200 million. Adding to the upbeat news, the November trade deficit was revised to show a surplus of $83 million from a negative balance of $118 million.
The big surprise was that China contributed to the jump in shipments abroad since exports to China recorded the largest increase on record to $94.5 billion in 2013. The data is important because China is Australia’s major export destination.
A separate report showed Australia’s retail sales volumes rose in December by 0.5%, in line with economists’ expectations, after a 0.7% rise in November. Today’s figure was taken positively since any lower-than-forecast figure would have been discouraging news. The retail sector has been improving over the past few months, after a fairly subdued 2013, giving optimism that consumer spending was helping revive the economy from a cooling mining boom.
The Australian dollar rose to a near 1-month high after today’s data, hitting as high as 0.8979.
Related Posts: