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NOVEMBER KEY FIGURES

	September 2004	October 2004	November 2004	Oct 04 to Nov 04
	$m	$m	$m	% change
Trend
Balance on goods & services	-2,254	-2,364	-2,464	. .
Credits (exports of goods & services)	13,053	13,000	12,943	-
Debits (imports of goods & services)	15,307	15,364	15,407	-
Seasonally Adjusted
Balance on goods & services	-2,110	-2,374	-2,661	. .
Credits (exports of goods & services)	13,159	12,925	12,875	-
Debits (imports of goods & services)	15,269	15,299	15,536	2
. . not applicable
- nil or rounded to zero (including null cells)

Balance on goods and services

• The provisional trend estimate of the balance on goods and services was a deficit of $2,464m in November 2004, an increase of $100m on the deficit in October.
• Goods and services credits fell $57m to $12,943m. Rural goods fell $79m (4%), while non-rural and other goods rose $43m (1%). Services credits fell $21m (1%).
• Goods and services debits rose $43m to $15,407m. Intermediate and other goods rose $54m (1%), while capital goods fell $15m (1%) and consumption goods fell $8m. Services debits rose $12m.

• In seasonally adjusted terms, the balance on goods and services was a deficit of $2,661m in November, an increase of $287m on the deficit in October.
• Goods and services credits fell $50m to $12,875m. Rural goods fell $41m (2%) and non-rural and other goods fell $11m. Services credits rose $2m.
• Goods and services debits rose $237m (2%) to $15,536m. Intermediate and other goods rose $299m (5%) and consumption goods rose $34m (1%), while capital goods fell $139m (5%). Services debits rose $43m (1%).

• In original terms, the November balance on goods and services was a deficit of $3,487m, an increase of $832m on the deficit in October. Goods and services credits fell $623m (5%), while goods and services debits rose $209m (1%).
• In the five months to November, exports of non-rural and other goods were up $5.1b (14%) and rural goods were up $2.3b (26%) on the corresponding period in 2003-04.

• increased the deficit on goods and services for the four months to October 2004 by $341m
• increased the deficit on goods and services for 2003-04 by $72m.

SEASONAL FACTORS

The seasonally adjusted and trend estimates of the current account have been revised as a result of the concurrent seasonal analysis. Revised historical and new concurrent seasonal factors are available in the electronic version of this publication (see 5368.0, table 20, for monthly seasonal factors).

FEATURE ARTICLE

A feature article on Australia's Importers, 2003-04 has been released on this web site concurrently with the release of this publication. The article is the sixth in a series analysing the characteristics and international trading activities of Australia's exporters and importers, based on the Australian Business Number (ABN).

INQUIRIES

For further information about these and related statistics, contact the National Information and Referral Service on 1300 135 070 or Artur Andrysiak on Canberra (02) 6252 6792.

ANALYSIS AND COMMENTS


BALANCE ON GOODS AND SERVICES

The trend estimate of the balance on goods and services in November 2004 was a deficit of $2,464m, an increase of $100m on the deficit in October.

In seasonally adjusted terms, the balance on goods and services in November 2004 was a deficit of $2,661m, an increase of $287m on the deficit in October.

EXPORTS OF GOODS AND SERVICES

The trend estimate of goods and services credits fell $57m in November to $12,943m.

In seasonally adjusted terms, goods and services credits fell $50m in November to $12,875m. Rural goods fell $41m (2%) and non-rural and other goods fell $11m, while services credits rose $2m.

Exports of goods

GOODS CREDITS

In seasonally adjusted terms, exports of rural goods fell $41m (2%) to $2,108m.

In original terms, exports of rural goods fell $111m (5%) to $2,138m.

Movements in the original series contributing to the fall in seasonally adjusted terms were:

• other rural, down $69m (8%), compared with an average October to November fall of 5% over the previous three years
• wool and sheepskins, down $22m (8%), compared with an average October to November fall of 5% over the previous three years.

• meat and meat preparations, down $21m (3%), compared with an average October to November fall of 8% over the previous three years
• cereal grains and cereal preparations, up marginally, in contrast to an average October to November fall of 6% over the previous three years.

In seasonally adjusted terms, exports of non-rural and other goods fell $11m to $8,008m.

In original terms, exports of non-rural and other goods fell $437m (5%) to $8,036m.

Movements in the original series contributing to the fall in seasonally adjusted terms were:

• other manufactures, down $55m (4%), compared with an average October to November fall of less than 1% over the previous three years
• coal, coke and briquettes, down $128m (10%), compared with an average October to November fall of 6% over the previous three years
• transport equipment, down $100m (22%), compared with an average October to November fall of 12% over the previous three years
• other non-rural, down $161m (16%), compared with an average October to November fall of 13% over the previous three years.

• metal ores and minerals, down $59m (4%), compared with an average October to November fall of 12% over the previous three years
• other goods, up marginally, in contrast to an average October to November fall of 8% over the previous three years
• machinery, up $19m (3%), in contrast to an average October to November fall of less than 1% over the previous three years.

SERVICES CREDITS

Seasonally adjusted, services credits rose $2m to $2,759m.

This rise was driven by travel services, up $15m (1%).

Partly offsetting these effects were:

• other services, down $10m (1%)
• freight services, down $2m (3%).

IMPORTS OF GOODS AND SERVICES

The trend estimate of goods and services debits rose $43m in November to $15,407m.

In seasonally adjusted terms, goods and services debits rose $237m (2%) to $15,536m. Intermediate and other goods rose $299m (5%), services debits rose $43m (1%) and consumption goods rose $34m (1%), while capital goods fell $139m (5%).

Imports of goods

GOODS DEBITS

In seasonally adjusted terms, imports of consumption goods rose $34m (1%) to $3,842m.

In original terms, imports of consumption goods rose $74m (2%) to $4,279m.

Movements in the original series contributing to the rise in seasonally adjusted terms were:

• consumption goods n.e.s., up $29m (2%), in contrast to an average October to November fall of 12% over the previous three years
• non-industrial transport equipment, up $25m (2%), in contrast to an average October to November fall of 4% over the previous three years
• household electrical items, up $38m (9%), in contrast to an average October to November fall of 6% over the previous three years
• toys, books and leisure goods, down $16m (4%), compared with an average October to November fall of 18% over the previous three years.

Capital goods

The trend estimate of imports of capital goods fell $15m (1%) to $2,973m.

In seasonally adjusted terms, imports of capital goods fell $139m (5%) to $2,938m.

In original terms, imports of capital goods rose $44m (1%) to $3,130m.

Movements in the original series contributing to the fall in seasonally adjusted terms were:

• civil aircraft, down $226m (67%), in contrast to an average October to November rise of 30% over the previous three years.
• an adjustment made as part of the regular seasonal adjustment process to take into account different trading day patterns in October and November, which contributed about 7 percentage points towards the overall fall.

• machinery and industrial equipment, up $122m (11%), in contrast to an average October to November fall of 8% over the previous three years
• automatic data processing equipment, up $33m (8%), in contrast to an average October to November fall of 11% over the previous three years
• industrial transport equipment n.e.s., up $48m (12%), in contrast to an average October to November fall of 6% over the previous three years
• capital goods n.e.s., up $34m (8%), in contrast to an average October to November fall of 8% over the previous three years.

In seasonally adjusted terms, intermediate and other goods imports rose $299m (5%) to $5,738m.

In original terms, imports of intermediate and other goods rose $277m (5%) to $5,899m.

Movements in the original series contributing to the rise in seasonally adjusted terms were:

• fuels and lubricants, up $71m (6%), in contrast to an average October to November fall of 20% over the previous three years
• other parts for capital goods, up $99m (13%), in contrast to an average October to November fall of 8% over the previous three years
• parts for transport equipment, up $43m (7%), in contrast to an average October to November fall of 13% over the previous three years
• processed industrial supplies n.e.s., up $56m (5%), in contrast to an average October to November fall of 3% over the previous three years
• other goods, up marginally, in contrast to an average October to November fall of 20% over the previous three years.

Imports of services

SERVICES DEBITS

Seasonally adjusted, services debits rose $43m (1%) to $3,018m.

Movements in the seasonally adjusted components contributing to this rise were:

• freight services, up $37m (6%)
• travel services, up $18m (2%).

Seasonally adjusted, tourism related services debits fell $2m to $1,533m.