PERTH (miningweekly.com) – New data by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) has shown that while the value of exports and imports of goods both decreased in April, demand for resource commodities remained strong.
The preliminary international trade figures show that exports fell A$4-billion, or 12%, from the record high figure in March 2020 of A$35.7-billion.
Driving the decrease was a A$1.7-billion decrease in exports of non-monetary gold following significant trade last month. Smaller decreases were also observed in other major resource commodities including iron-ore, coal, gas and petroleum, the ABS said.
Despite the month-on-month fall, Australian exports remain strong owing largely to ongoing demand for Australian resource commodities, in particular iron-ore from major trading partners across Asia, and gas.
Year-on-year the value of exports in April was 1% higher than the value recorded in April last year.
The value of goods imported fell in April, down 5% on March, owing to decreases in imports of petroleum, aircraft, non-monetary gold, and road vehicles.
April saw imports from China continue to recover from decreases observed earlier in 2020. Of note, imports of laptop computers from China remained strong in April, in line with increased demand during the Covid-19 lockdown period.
There were also increases in imports of commodities associated with the detection and prevention of Covid-19 in April, including testing kits and personal protective equipment.
Year-on-year, the value of imports in April was down 7% on April 2019 with large decreases in the value of imports of petroleum and road vehicles.