Australia’s current account balance increased by $10.5 billion to a surplus of $11.8 billion (seasonally adjusted, current prices) in the December quarter 2023, according to figures released today by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).
Grace Kim, ABS head of International Statistics, said: “The current account surplus reflected a higher trade surplus, driven by mining commodity exports. Meanwhile, the net primary income deficit narrowed.”
The balance on goods and services rose $8.2 billion to $32.4 billion and the net primary income deficit narrowed $1.9 billion to $20.2 billion.
Exports of goods rose 3.1 per cent reflecting higher export prices. Coal and metal ore exports were the largest contributor to the rise, driven by increases in both quantities and price. Exports of Rural goods and Non-monetary gold partly offset the rise.
Australia’s terms of trade rose 2.2 per cent but was down 3.9 per cent through the year.
“The prices of goods exports rose for the first time in 2023, up 3.5 per cent, led by metal ores and coal prices. Despite this rise, the price of exported goods was 8.6 per cent lower compared to this time last year,” Ms Kim said.
Exports of services rose modestly, growing 1.3 per cent, led by Travel services as more holidaymakers came to Australia. Travel services were 61.8 per cent higher than December 2022 and 16.1 per cent higher than December 2019, which was the last quarter before COVID-19 travel restrictions were put in place.
Imports of goods and services fell 2.6 per cent. Imports of Travel services fell for the first time in 2023, down 7.8 per cent, as Australians spent less travelling overseas and travelled to closer destinations.
Imports of goods fell 1.8 per cent as imports of passenger vehicles fell in the quarter. This followed strong imports earlier in the year as order backlogs continued to be fulfilled and wait times on cars recovered.
| Current account balance ($b) | Net goods & services ($b) | Net primary income ($b) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dec-18 | -6.6 | 9.8 | -16.2 |
| Mar-19 | -4.6 | 12.1 | -16.3 |
| Jun-19 | 3.3 | 18.9 | -15.8 |
| Sep-19 | 7.0 | 21.4 | -14.3 |
| Dec-19 | 1.6 | 14.5 | -12.7 |
| Mar-20 | 5.3 | 16.4 | -10.8 |
| Jun-20 | 14.4 | 22.3 | -7.3 |
| Sep-20 | 10.2 | 14.0 | -3.2 |
| Dec-20 | 13.4 | 18.1 | -4.0 |
| Mar-21 | 19.3 | 26.0 | -6.2 |
| Jun-21 | 19.0 | 30.6 | -10.4 |
| Sep-21 | 21.7 | 36.5 | -14.2 |
| Dec-21 | 4.5 | 25.8 | -20.6 |
| Mar-22 | 2.8 | 26.8 | -23.1 |
| Jun-22 | 12.3 | 44.0 | -31.0 |
| Sep-22 | 0.8 | 31.9 | -30.7 |
| Dec-22 | 10.4 | 38.1 | -27.1 |
| Mar-23 | 10.5 | 38.7 | -27.7 |
| Jun-23 | 8.3 | 30.8 | -22.2 |
| Sep-23 | 1.3 | 24.2 | -22.1 |
| Dec-23 | 11.8 | 32.4 | -20.2 |
(a) seasonally adjusted estimates at current prices
The primary income deficit ($20.2 billion) was the narrowest deficit since September quarter 2021. This was driven by a drop in primary income debits with reduced profits on foreign direct investment.
| Net primary income ($b) | Primary income credits ($b) | Primary income debits ($b) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dec-18 | -16.2 | 16.8 | -33.0 |
| Mar-19 | -16.3 | 17.7 | -34.1 |
| Jun-19 | -15.8 | 16.9 | -32.7 |
| Sep-19 | -14.3 | 16.7 | -30.9 |
| Dec-19 | -12.7 | 17.1 | -29.8 |
| Mar-20 | -10.8 | 16.8 | -27.7 |
| Jun-20 | -7.3 | 14.3 | -21.6 |
| Sep-20 | -3.2 | 15.4 | -18.6 |
| Dec-20 | -4.0 | 14.3 | -18.3 |
| Mar-21 | -6.2 | 15.7 | -21.9 |
| Jun-21 | -10.4 | 15.9 | -26.3 |
| Sep-21 | -14.2 | 17.6 | -31.7 |
| Dec-21 | -20.6 | 18.6 | -39.3 |
| Mar-22 | -23.1 | 20.2 | -43.3 |
| Jun-22 | -31.0 | 23.2 | -54.2 |
| Sep-22 | -30.7 | 22.6 | -53.4 |
| Dec-22 | -27.1 | 24.8 | -51.9 |
| Mar-23 | -27.7 | 22.3 | -50.0 |
| Jun-23 | -22.2 | 23.4 | -45.5 |
| Sep-23 | -22.1 | 25.0 | -47.0 |
| Dec-23 | -20.2 | 24.9 | -45.0 |
(a) seasonally adjusted estimates at current prices
The financial account recorded a deficit of $9.6 billion, driven by net inflows of equity (+$13.3 billion) and partly offset by net outflows of debt (-$3.7 billion).
The $3.9 billion rise in net trade (seasonally adjusted, chain volume measure) is expected to contribute 0.6 percentage points to the December quarter 2023 GDP quarterly movement.
Australia’s net international investment liability position was $836.6 billion this quarter, an increase of $25.5 billion. The fall in Australia’s foreign assets outpaced the fall in foreign liabilities.
Australia’s net foreign equity asset position rose by $13.3 billion to $369.6 billion. Australia’s net foreign debt liability position increased by $38.8 billion to $1,206.3 billion.
