Exports softened in February
Australia's trade surplus for goods retreated by $2.8 billion in February.
Exports fell -2.2 per cent, largely due to softening iron ore prices, plus some Cyclone Lincoln disruption, while imports rose +4.8 per cent, having rebounded strongly since last November.
It's quite likely that commodity prices will ease further from here, but it's worth taking a step back to acknowledge the sheer scale of the resources boom windfall Australia has taken in over the past 20 years.
Gold exports are now quietly making record highs, while iron ore prices will continue to roll over, and the extraordinary spike in coal and gas revenues are reverting lower.
Over the past year, Western Australia ($261 billion) and Queensland ($116 billion) have reported phenomenally strong goods trade exports, largely comprised of iron ore, natural gas, coals, gold, and other minerals.
There is also significant coal mining in New South Wales, and copper/silver/gold mining in South Australia, as well as some large gas projects in the Northern Territory to take into account.
People seem to all too easily forget how clearly mining and resources have facilitated Australia's enormous increase in wealth over the past two decades, effectively helping to fund trade deficits in the most populated states.
James Foster ran through the key trade figures
here.
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On the subject of household wealth, a good deal of Australia's mining income and wealth continues to be parlayed into well-located residential land, with prices per square metre continuing to rise, as reported by Domain.
Sydney, Perth, and Adelaide have all reported strong recent gains on a per square metre basis.
Source: Domain
High land prices per square metre will make Sydney relatively far less suitable than Melbourne and Brisbane for the nascent Build to Rent sector.
Domain's reporting also seems to imply that most of the distressed mortgagors have already sold up in 2023, with distressed listings apparently falling across the board over recent months.
Source: Domain
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