Australia's trade surplus widened to A$8.03 billion ($6.21 billion) in April from an upwardly revised A$5.79 billion in March, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics Thursday. It also exceeded a consensus of economists' estimate for A$7.9 billion.
It is the largest trade surplus since January. Exports jumped 3% year over year to a 13-month high of A$39.77 billion while imports fell 3% to A$31.74 billion.
For the first four months of the year the trade surplus widened to A$31.13 billion from A$24.85 billion in the same period of 2020, the bureau said.
For exports sales of nonrural goods rose 5% to A$28.68 billion helped by exports of metal ores and minerals, coal, coke and briquettes and other mineral fuels. Exports of rural goods climbed 4% to A$4.32 billion - led by meat and meat preparations and wool and sheepskins. Sales of services went up 1% to A$4.92 billion thanks mainly to travel, the bureau explained.
Imports of goods and services to Australia fell 3% as domestic demand weakened following the latest COVID-19 outbreak in some states.
Meanwhile, retail sales in Australia rose by 1.1% month over month in April after a 1.3% gain a month earlier.
This was the second consecutive month of growth in retail trade as sales grew for food retailing, household goods, clothing, footwear and personal accessories. Other retailing and cafes, restaurants and takeaway food services saw a 2.3% on year rise. However, sales in department stores fell for the first time in three months - down 6.7% on year compared with an 8.5% increase a month earlier, the bureau data show.
BIS Oxford Economics chief Australia economist Sarah Hunter said there were generally subdued rates of growth outside the biggest states, confirming the easy wins from reopening were now coming to an end, according to a report in the Sydney Morning Herald Thursday.
Hunter said the data over the past few months confirmed the entrenchment of online's share of total spending - which has held steady at just over 9% since December.
"And somewhat surprisingly spending in cafes and restaurants increased by a modest 0.6% on the month, well behind a 4.4% increase in takeaways," she said.
"Although some of this is a result of the lockdowns, it highlights that the recovery in household spending is likely to become patchier as we move through the rest of the year, notwithstanding the general trend in spending back to services."
