Australia reports $3.9b international trade surplus in May

Exports posted annual decline in May, with imports increasing.

Australia's foreign trade balance posted a surplus of 5.77 billion Australian dollars ($3.9 billion) in May, the country's statistical bureau revealed on Thursday.

The country's exports totaled 43.98 billion Australian dollars ($29.54 billion), up by 2.8% from April to May but decreased by 7.8% from May 2023, data by the Australian Bureau of Statistics showed.

Imports rose 3.9% to 38.2 billion Australian dollars ($25.65 billion) on a monthly basis, and went up by 7% on a yearly basis.

Despite the monthly improvement in the trade balance, on an annual basis, the trade surplus was roughly halved, falling from 10.8 billion Australian dollars ($7.25 billion).