We haven't checked in on international trade for a while, so let's rattle through it in 45 seconds.
Well, the trade surplus was absolutely massive in May at $9.7 billion.
Superficially good news, but it's more of a mixed picture than it sounds.
Total exports are trending higher again on an annual basis, but they are well off the highs, and the disruption to imports has had a significant part to play in the headline figures.
Services credits have been thumped, especially tourism, while LNG and coal exports have also really come off since 2019.
In fact, overall exports have really been riding on Port Hedland's back, with the A$ value of iron ore exports turning almost vertical in May at an estimated $16.7 billion on a FOB basis.
That's a huge record monthly high, and comfortably more than triple the levels being record 3-4 years ago.
As such, while Queensland's merchandise trade is suffering somewhat from lower coal and LNG prices (before we even mention the impacts of fewer international students and tourists), Western Australia's merchandise trade balance is off to the moon.
Prison island
This is all very interesting, but doesn't tell us much about how households are experiencing the past 18 months, which is to say...they're busily getting cashed up.
Australia's combined stimulus packages were among the swiftest and most effective, which was one part of the story.
On the other hand the daily Facebook posts in the Australian travel and exemption support are an endless sea of heart-breaking stories of Aussies being disallowed from travelling for funerals, to visit infirm or dying family or loved ones overseas, or from reuniting with partners, and so on.
The mass hysteria fuelled by media and governments has led to the populace all but losing the plot, in my opinion, with over 8 million vaccine doses administered, and zero deaths this year (actually, officially there has been one virus 'death' in Australia since October last year - a chap in his 80s who was already ill on his return from Asia).
For all the media hype there isn't a single COVID case on a ventilator in Australia, since thankfully the virus is now a vaccinable disease and generally poses only a low risk to those aged over 60.
However, my opinion doesn't matter a jot in the scheme of things, and the net effect has been to trap billions of stimulus dollars at home in Australia, which is pumping up household balance sheets and the economy.
The Bank for International Settlements (BIS) noted that globally fiscal policy could turn out to be more stimulatory than expected, and the excess savings could fuel a consumption boom...and the continuation of the housing boom.
Since it's become nigh on impossible to leave the 'prison island' it's no surprise at all to see Australia with the greatest war chest of excess household savings in the world.
Great - now get on with the bloody vaccine rollout.
