Mecklai Graph of the day: Australia trade balance

Trade balance is the difference in value between imported and exported goods and services during the reported month. A positive number indicates that more goods and services were exported than imported.

Australia’s trade deficit widened in May for a fifth monthly shortfall as stronger imports of industrial equipment and fuel reflected a mining-investment boom that’s helping sustain economic growth. Imports outpaced export by A$285 million ($292 million), from a revised A$26 million deficit in April, the Bureau of Statistics said in a report in Sydney today. It was the longest streak of monthly deficits since a 12-month run ended in 2010. The data add to pressure on Reserve Bank of Australia Governor Glenn Stevens to extend interest-rate cuts as Europe’s fiscal crisis and slower growth in China threaten the trade that drives the nation’s economy. However yesterdays PBOC surprise rate cuts in order to revive growth in Asia’s 2nd largest economy can provide a kindle of hope to Australia’s exports which have been suffering from the slowdown in Chinese markets and break the trail of continuous trade deficits.

The below graph shows the trade balance of Australia for the past 5 months

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