Another massive $8.2 billion preliminary trade surplus was recorded for the month of June 2020.
Goods imports have generally been rebounding, but inbound tourism trade remained stuck at zero in June, since the borders were effectively shut, and this has held back the recovery.
Exports saw a decent rebound in June, up 3½ per cent to $36.2 billion, with iron ore and gold strength compensating for the declining value of coal exports.
Exports were still down over the June quarter, however, by about 8 per cent.
The iron ore powerhouse will continue into August and beyond, with the spot price soaring to above US$116/tonne.
Domestic tourism boom
While inbound tourism is non-existent, the most interesting part of today's trade figures showed that domestically Aussies are really embracing holidaying at home.
Tourism trade credits increased for a second consecutive month to $3.6 billion, sending the services trade surplus ballooning to unprecedented heights (due to the absence of inbound tourism trade).
Although festivals have been cancelled, coastal housing markets are genuinely thriving, with sales prices in Lennox Head, Ocean Shores, and Byron LGA already back to pre-COVID levels, while there is a lengthening waiting list of buyers looking for vacant land thanks to the government stimulus.
Hinterland property is absolutely flying thanks to a raft of seachangers, with prices now higher than ever.
Rental vacancies have dropped close to zero in a range of suburbs from Byron to Bangalow to Brunswick Heads.
Having floundered for a time, Airbnb landlords are returning to the sector with a mission, especially to the popular coastal domestic tourism locations, and rental discounts up on the coast have evaporated.
More folks have been working from home this year, and many industries have experimented with allowing more flexible working - especially in banking and financial services - but there's also seemingly limit to how far this trend can be taken.
As a result, many are buying or renting coastal properties to spend some of their time on the coast while retaining a metropolitan presence.
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As always, you can get the lowdown on the detailed trade figures from James Foster here.
To find out more about our buyer's agency services in New South Wales and Queensland, see here.
