The ABS provides information on Australia's international trade in goods and services in three publications:

• International Trade in Goods and Services, Australia (cat. no. 5368.0) provides monthly current price estimates for both credits (exports) and debits (imports).
• This publication provides the following selected broad level preliminary quarterly estimates for the current quarter:
  • current price estimates of the balance on goods and services, and
  • chain volume measures and price indexes for goods debits.
• Balance of Payments and International Investment Position, Australia (cat. no. 5302.0) provides quarterly estimates in current prices, chain volume measures and price indexes for goods and services credits and debits plus the full balance of payments and international investment position in current prices.

Estimates may be revised between the monthly estimates in cat. no. 5368.0, the preliminary estimates in this publication and the quarterly estimates in cat. no. 5302.0. The September quarter 2015 issue of Balance of Payments and International Investment Position, Australia (cat. no. 5302.0) will be released on 1 December 2015.


PRELIMINARY CURRENT PRICE ESTIMATES OF BALANCE ON GOODS AND SERVICES

• In seasonally adjusted current price terms, the balance on goods and services was a deficit of $7,438m in the September quarter 2015, a fall of $3,508m (32%) on the revised June quarter 2015 deficit of $10,946m. The main components contributing to the balance of goods and services were:

• goods credits, up $3,614m (6%)
  • non-monetary gold, up $1,648m (56%)
  • metal ores and minerals, up $637m (4%)
  • other mineral fuels, up $508m (10%)
  • coal, coke and briquettes, up $475m (5%).

• services credits, up $200m (1%)
  • travel, up $195m (2%)
  • transport, down $13m (1%).

• goods debits, up $310m
  • civil aircraft and confidentialised items, up $1,048m (86%)
  • consumption goods n.e.s., up $304m (4%)
  • fuel and lubricants, down $1,003m (12%).

• services debits, down $2m.

• Goods and services debits data, in original and seasonally adjusted terms, have been revised since the release of the September 2015 issue of International Trade in Goods and Services, Australia (cat. no. 5368.0).

PRELIMINARY ESTIMATES OF CHAIN VOLUME MEASURES AND PRICE INDEXES FOR GOODS DEBITS (footnote 1, footnote 2)

• In seasonally adjusted terms, goods imports volumes fell 1.8% and the implicit price deflator rose 2.3% during the September quarter 2015.
• In original terms, the chain Laspeyres price index rose 1.8% and the implicit price deflator rose 2.6%.

CHANGES IN THIS ISSUE

ANNUAL SEASONAL RE-ANALYSIS

The seasonally adjusted and trend estimates of goods and services have been revised as a result of the annual seasonal re-analysis. This re-analysis reviews the seasonal and trading day factors in more detail than is possible in the quarterly processing cycle and assesses the appropriateness of any prior corrections.


NEW BASE YEAR AND RE-REFERENCING OF CHAIN VOLUME ESTIMATES, IMPLICIT PRICE DEFLATORS AND CHAIN LASPEYRES PRICE INDEXES

A new base year 2013-14, has been introduced into chain volume estimates, implicit price deflators, and terms of trade indexes. Chain volume estimates, implicit price deflators and chain Laspeyres price indexes have been re-referenced to 2013-14. Additivity has been preserved in the quarters subsequent to the new reference year as well as the annual sum of the quarters in the reference year. Re-referencing affects the levels, but not the movements, of chain volume estimates, implicit price deflators and terms of trade indexes. This has resulted in revisions to the growth rates of chain volume estimates, implicit price deflators and chain Laspeyres price indexes for all periods from September quarter 2013.


CHANGES IN FORTHCOMING ISSUES

This September quarter 2015 is the final issue of this publication as announced in the Feature Article: Outcomes of the Review of International Accounts Statistical Outputs published in the June quarter 2015 issue of Balance of Payments and International Investment Position, Australia (cat. no. 5302.0) released on 1 September 2015.


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Footnote:
1 Reference year for chain volume measures and price index is 2013-14. See paragraphs 16 to 18 of the Explanatory Notes.
2 In this commentary movements in indexes are based on data to four decimal places.