Coal and gas super-boom
Australia recorded an absurdly large seasonally adjusted trade surplus in May of A$16 billion (!), by far the largest ever figure as exports ballooned to a massive $58 billion.
Over the past three months coal and natural gas export figures have rocketed to record highs, to the extent that coal is on the cusp of becoming Australia's most powerful export commodity (only a few short years after many commentators had sounded a death knell for the industry).
Tourism services credits are rising strongly now, which is great to see, although still they remain at only around 45 per cent of pre-COVID levels.
At the moment the figures don't appear to suggest much of a rush of outbound tourism, but I sense this may begin to change in the June or July figures given how many Aussies seem to be Europe-bound at the moment.
My gut feel is that there is a large pent-up demand for overseas travel right now, and Australia's population in the country might go through a lull, before rebounding very hard in the summer months, which are also traditionally far more popular months for both tourism and permanent arrivals.
Overall these were extraordinarily strong merchandise export figures, underscoring the depth of Australia's natural resources.
