• Summary
• Downloads
• Explanatory Notes
• Related Information
• Past Releases

AUGUST KEY FIGURES

	June 2014	July 2014	August 2014
	$m	$m	$m
Food and live animals	886	1 037	982
Beverages and tobacco	198	221	229
Crude materials, inedible, except fuels	218	287	232
Mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials	3 623	3 578	2 844
Animal and vegetable oils, fats and waxes	56	49	61
Chemicals and related products, nes	1 943	2 190	2 090
Manufactured goods classified chiefly by material	2 338	2 388	2 504
Machinery and transport equipment	7 618	8 042	7 206
Miscellaneous manufactured articles	2 574	3 097	2 983
Commodities and transactions not classified elsewhere in the SITC	806	886	1 112
TOTAL	20 260	21 775	20 242

• In original terms, August 2014 imports on an international merchandise trade basis were $20,242m, a decrease of $1,533m (7%) on the revised July 2014 merchandise imports of $21,775m.

• Preliminary analysis shows that goods debits (imports) on a balance of payments basis in original terms fell $1,347m (6%) between July and August 2014.
• In seasonally adjusted terms, goods debits fell $677m (3%) between July and August 2014 to $21,423m. Intermediate and other merchandise goods fell $878m (9%), consumption goods fell $65m (1%) and non-monetary gold fell $25m (10%). Capital goods rose $292m (6%).

• Revisions on an international merchandise trade basis have been applied back to January 2007 to incorporate:
  • the revised correspondence between the Combined Australian Customs Tariff Nomenclature and Statistical Classification (Customs Tariff) and the Standard International Trade Classification Revision 4 (SITC Rev. 4), applied back to January 2007
  • the reclassification of selected imports data from merchandise to non-merchandise trade, applied back to August 2010.
• The preliminary balance of payments debits estimates incorporate the latest available data.
• The seasonally adjusted estimates of goods debits on a balance of payments basis have been revised as a result of the annual seasonal re-analysis. This re-analysis reviews the seasonal and trading day factors and assesses the appropriateness of any prior corrections.