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NAME OF COLLECTION
Balance of Payments and International Investment Position

Contact
For balance of payments (BOP) statistics:
Assistant Director
Balance of Payments Section
Australian Bureau of Statistics
Locked Bag 10
BELCONNEN ACT 2616

Telephone: Canberra 02 6252 5336
Facsimile: Canberra 02 6252 7219
Email: client.services@abs.gov.au
Web site: <www.abs.gov.au>

For international investment position (IIP) statistics:
Assistant Director
International Investment Section
Australian Bureau of Statistics
Locked Bag 10
BELCONNEN ACT 2616

Telephone: Canberra 02 6252 5364
Facsimile: Canberra 02 6252 6164
Email: client.services@abs.gov.au
Web site: <www.abs.gov.au>

Purpose
To provide a systematic record of Australia's transactions with the rest of the world, including international transactions in mining services and Australia's stock of foreign financial assets and liabilities.

Description
The scope of BOP and IIP statistics is all resident enterprises in Australia that engage in cross-border activity. The collections provide estimates of Australia's BOP and IIP statistics, including significant detail for its constituent transactions.

The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) conducts a number of surveys of businesses, individuals and organisations with international transactions and uses a variety of administrative by-product records in the compilation of BOP and IIP statistics.

ABS and other collections that are used in estimating the mining-related components of the BOP and IIP statistics include the:

• International Merchandise Trade Statistics Collection which supplies data on a wide range of mining products exported from and imported into Australia (for more details refer to the International Merchandise Trade Statistics entry in this directory);
• Survey of International Trade in Services which collects data on a wide range of services including mining services; and
• Survey of International Investment which collects data on a wide range of financial stocks and transactions, including those of the mining industry.

To collect the data, mail questionnaires are used.

Main data detail
Following is a summary of the BOP statistics available:

• current account, includes mining products exported abroad;
• seasonally adjusted and trend estimates for current account aggregates;
• capital account;
• financial account (includes official reserve assets); and
• exchange rates.

Please note that royalties for mining processes/technology are covered but not separately available and are included in royalties and licence fees. Subsoil royalties are excluded from the scope of mining services, and any net flows are captured indistinguishably in international investment statistics.

IIP statistics about transactions and end of period levels on foreign assets and liabilities for the Australian mining industry are available.

Geographic coverage
Australia.

Frequency of data availability
Only goods and summary services data are released monthly. BOP and IIP statistics are available quarterly and annually for comprehensive and more detailed data.

Reference period
Quarters ended 31 March, 30 June, 30 September and 31 December.

Historical data
BOP data are available from September quarter 1959; monthly data are available from July 1971. Mining services data are available from 1991-92 onwards.

Foreign liabilities data for the mining industry are available from September quarter 1988, while annual data are available from 1991-92. Foreign assets data for the mining industry are available on an annual basis only, from 1991-92 onwards.

Products and services
Publications

• Balance of Payments and International Investment Position, Australia: Concepts, Sources and Methods (cat. no. 5331.0)
• Balance of Payments and International Investment Position, Australia (cat. no. 5302.0) - quarterly
• Balance of Payments and International Investment Position, Australia (cat. no. 5363.0) - annual
• A Guide to Australian Balance of Payments Statistics (cat. no. 5362.0)
• Information Paper: Quality of Australian Balance of Payments Statistics (cat. no. 5342.0)
• International Trade in Goods and Services, Australia (cat. no. 5368.0)

• AusStats - a web based information service purchased by subscription which provides on-line access to the ABS’ standard product range (both free and charged material).
• Dial-a-statistic - telephone 1900 986 400.
• Special data services are available on request.

			1997-98 $m	1998-99 $m	1999-2000 $m
GOODS CREDITS			88,538	85,783	97,655
General merchandise			80,571	78,323	90,100
Rural goods
	Meat and meat preparations		3,731	4,008	4,467
	Cereal grains and cereal preparations		5,094	5,046	4,941
	Wool and sheepskins		4,020	2,583	2,963
	Other rural		9,285	10,225	11,246
	Total rural goods		22,130	21,862	23,617
Non-rural goods
	Metal ores and minerals		10,835	11,037	11,760
	Coal, coke and briquettes		9,586	9,288	8,336
	Other mineral fuels		5,309	4,461	9,082
	Metals (excluding non-monetary gold)		7,185	6,984	8,810
	Machinery		7,549	6,569	7,133
	Transport equipment		3,412	3,343	4,597
	Other manufactures		9,834	10,273	11,529
	Other non-rural (including sugar)
		Sugar, sugar preparations and honey	4,731	4,506	5,236
		Other	1,939	1,472	1,229
		Total other non-rural	2,792	3,034	4,007
	Total non-rural goods		58,441	56,461	66,483
Goods for processing			119	516	1,602
Repairs on goods			44	63	54
Goods procured in ports by carriers			578	468	735
Non-monetary gold			7,226	6,413	5,164