SYDNEY: Australia’s trade deficit widened in June to a seasonally adjusted shortfall of A$2.93 billion, compared with a deficit of A$2.68 billion in May, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said Tuesday.
The figure was lower than the A$3.1 billion deficit economists had been expecting. The value of exports rose by 3% in June from May, the bureau said, while imports climbed by 4%.
Despite near-record exports of key commodities like iron ore and coal, sharp price drops over the past year have meant Australia’s trade position remains weak overall. The Australian dollar has fallen to 6-year lows in recent weeks, helping to some extent to offset commodity-price weakness.
