Aust. invisibles push up deficit

Press, 15 August 1984, Page 37

Aust. invisibles push up deficit

PA Canberra Australia recorded a trade surplus for the year 1983-84 of sAust23l million, but a 32 per cent increase in the net invisibles figure brought the Current Account to a $6697 million deficit, an eight per cent increase on the 1982-83 deficit.

Australian Bureau of Statistics figures show that exports for 1983-84 rose to $23,725 million, a 15 per cent increase over 1982-83 figures. Over-all rural exports rose 15 per cent, with the season’s record wheat crop resulting in an increase in cereal exports of $968 million, which was a 52 per cent rise over the previous year. Meat, down 17 per cent, was the only broad export commodity group to record a fall.

Non-rural exports also recorded a 15 per cent increase. with mineral fuels

other than coal recording the largest increase, of 40 per cent. Imports for 1983-84 rose by nine per cent. Items relating to intermediate and final consumption rose by up to 29 per cent, while fuel imports fell by 28 per cent from 1982-83, the ABS figures show. Invisible credits for 198384 rose $721 million, or 12 per cent, over 1982-83, while invisible debits increased by $2415 million or 22 per cent. For the June quarter the current account deficit increased by 2.3 per cent from $l7Bl million in the March quarter to $1823 million. The trade account, in seasonally adjusted terms, recorded a deficit of $146 million, after a surplus of $3l million for the March quarter. Seasonally adjusted, the net invisibles deficit fell 7.5 per cent, from $1,812 million

in the March quarter to $1677 million in the June quarter. The figures show that, with a base rate of May 100, the Australian dollar stood at 79.2 at the end of June, which was 4.5 per cent lower than the end of March, and 1.9 per cent on the end of June last year. Through the June quarter the value of the Australian dollar fell against the U.S. dollar, the U.K. pound, the Japanese yen, and the West German Mark by 7.9 per cent, 1.3 per cent, 2.7 per cent, and 1.1 per cent, respectively.