Balance of Payments and International Investment Position, Australia

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Balance of payments on capital and financial transactions plus an international investment statement detailing level of investment and income

Reference period

December 2019

Released

3/03/2020

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Key statistics

Australia's net IIP liability position decreased $83.4b.
Australia's net foreign debt liability position decreased $20.9b.
Australia's net foreign equity asset position increased $62.6b.
The balance on goods and services surplus rose $531m.

Main features

Balance of payments

The current account surplus, seasonally adjusted, fell $5,548m to $955m in the December quarter 2019. The balance on goods and services surplus fell $6,021m to $13,893m. The primary income deficit fell $626m to $12,498m.
In seasonally adjusted chain volume terms, the surplus on goods and services rose $531m from $8,418m in the September quarter 2019 to $8,949m in the December quarter 2019. This is expected to contribute 0.1 percentage points to growth in the December quarter 2019 volume measure of GDP.

International investment position (IIP)

Australia's net IIP liability position was $891.5b at 31 December 2019, a decrease of $83.4b on the revised 30 September 2019 position of $974.9b. Australia's net foreign debt liability position decreased $20.9b to $1,143.5b. Australia's net foreign equity asset position increased $62.6b to $252.1b at 31 December 2019.

			Sep Qtr 2019	Dec Qtr 2019	Sep Qtr 2019 to Dec Qtr 2019
			$m	$m	% change
BALANCE ON CURRENT ACCOUNT
	Trend estimates		4 785	4 017	-16
	Seasonally adjusted		6 503	955	-85
BALANCE ON GOODS AND SERVICES
	Trend estimates		18 520	16 896	-9
	Seasonally adjusted		19 914	13 893	-30
NET PRIMARY INCOME
	Trend estimates		-13 488	-12 542	7
	Seasonally adjusted		-13 124	-12 498	5
LEVELS AT END OF PERIOD
	International Investment Position		974 925	891 482	-9
		Net foreign equity	-189 476	-252 064	-33
		Net foreign debt	1 164 402	1 143 546	-2

Current account balance(a), main aggregates ($b)
	Current account balance ($b)	Net goods & services ($b)	Net primary income ($b)
Dec-2015	-22.3	-12.0	-10.1
Mar-2016	-17.1	-8.5	-8.4
Jun-2016	-18.0	-7.6	-10.2
Sep-2016	-14.1	-4.3	-9.4
Dec-2016	-6.5	6.0	-12.3
Mar-2017	-6.6	6.9	-12.9
Jun-2017	-11.1	2.9	-13.5
Sep-2017	-12.6	1.4	-13.7
Dec-2017	-16.0	-1.5	-14.2
Mar-2018	-9.9	4.7	-14.4
Jun-2018	-12.6	3.2	-15.5
Sep-2018	-9.8	6.5	-15.9
Dec-2018	-6.7	8.7	-15.2
Mar-2019	-1.9	14.6	-16.1
Jun-2019	4.6	19.2	-14.7
Sep-2019	6.5	19.9	-13.1
Dec-2019	1.0	13.9	-12.5

Current account balance(a), main aggregates ($b)

["","Current account balance","Net goods & services","Net primary income"]

[["Dec-2015","Mar-2016","Jun-2016","Sep-2016","Dec-2016","Mar-2017","Jun-2017","Sep-2017","Dec-2017","Mar-2018","Jun-2018","Sep-2018","Dec-2018","Mar-2019","Jun-2019","Sep-2019","Dec-2019"],[[-22.300000000000001],[-17.100000000000001],[-18],[-14.1],[-6.5],[-6.5999999999999996],[-11.1],[-12.6],[-16],[-9.9000000000000004],[-12.6],[-9.8000000000000007],[-6.7000000000000002],[-1.8999999999999999],[4.5999999999999996],[6.5],[1]],[[-12],[-8.5],[-7.5999999999999996],[-4.2999999999999998],[6],[6.9000000000000004],[2.8999999999999999],[1.3999999999999999],[-1.5],[4.7000000000000002],[3.2000000000000002],[6.5],[8.6999999999999993],[14.6],[19.199999999999999],[19.899999999999999],[13.9]],[[-10.1],[-8.4000000000000004],[-10.199999999999999],[-9.4000000000000004],[-12.300000000000001],[-12.9],[-13.5],[-13.699999999999999],[-14.199999999999999],[-14.4],[-15.5],[-15.9],[-15.199999999999999],[-16.100000000000001],[-14.699999999999999],[-13.1],[-12.5]]]

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Seasonally adjusted estimates at current prices.

International investment ($b)
	Net IIP ($b)	Net foreign equity ($b)	Net foreign debt ($b)
Dec-2015	922	-80	1,002
Mar-2016	971	-35	1,006
Jun-2016	994	-33	1,028
Sep-2016	993	-35	1,028
Dec-2016	969	-38	1,007
Mar-2017	965	-26	991
Jun-2017	943	-38	981
Sep-2017	951	-54	1,005
Dec-2017	983	-50	1,033
Mar-2018	948	-90	1,038
Jun-2018	973	-80	1,053
Sep-2018	969	-103	1,072
Dec-2018	1,018	-99	1,117
Mar-2019	991	-132	1,123
Jun-2019	997	-146	1,143
Sep-2019	975	-190	1,164
Dec-2019	892	-252	1,144

International investment ($b)

["","Net IIP","Net foreign equity","Net foreign debt"]

[["Dec-2015","Mar-2016","Jun-2016","Sep-2016","Dec-2016","Mar-2017","Jun-2017","Sep-2017","Dec-2017","Mar-2018","Jun-2018","Sep-2018","Dec-2018","Mar-2019","Jun-2019","Sep-2019","Dec-2019"],[[922.10000000000002],[971.29999999999995],[994.20000000000005],[992.89999999999998],[969.10000000000002],[965.20000000000005],[943.10000000000002],[950.5],[983.10000000000002],[948.29999999999995],[973.20000000000005],[968.60000000000002],[1017.9],[991],[996.70000000000005],[974.89999999999998],[891.5]],[[-80.299999999999997],[-35],[-33.299999999999997],[-34.899999999999999],[-37.899999999999999],[-25.600000000000001],[-38.299999999999997],[-54.200000000000003],[-49.899999999999999],[-89.799999999999997],[-80.200000000000003],[-102.90000000000001],[-99.099999999999994],[-132.30000000000001],[-146.19999999999999],[-189.5],[-252.09999999999999]],[[1002.4],[1006.2],[1027.5],[1027.8],[1006.9],[990.70000000000005],[981.39999999999998],[1004.7],[1033],[1038.2],[1053.4000000000001],[1071.5],[1117],[1123.4000000000001],[1142.8],[1164.4000000000001],[1143.5]]]

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Bushfires in December quarter

Quality assurance undertaken by the ABS confirmed that the bushfires did not result in quality impacts to Balance of Payments and International Investment Position for December quarter 2019. It is expected that the recent bushfires and COVID-19 virus will impact the Australian economy in the March quarter 2020. For more information please see the ABS Chief Economist Series paper Measuring natural disasters in the Australian economy.

Analysis and comments

Balance of payments

In original current price terms, the December quarter 2019 current account surplus was $1,845m, a fall of $1,402m on the September quarter 2019 surplus. In original current price terms, the balance on goods and services was a surplus of $13,969m, primary income was a deficit of $12,095m and secondary income was a deficit of $29m.

In original current price terms, the December quarter 2019 capital and financial account deficit was $1,833m, a fall of $3,869m on the September quarter 2019 deficit. In original current price terms, the capital account was a deficit of $179m and the financial account was a deficit of $1,654m.

The contributors to the current account balances, in original terms at current prices, are shown in the following table.

Balance of payments, summary(a): original

					Dec 2018	Mar 2019	Jun 2019	Sep 2019	Dec 2019
					$m	$m	$m	$m	$m
CURRENT ACCOUNT					-6 569	-1 086	6 295	3 247	1 845
	Goods and services				8 313	16 185	19 310	18 145	13 969
		Credits			118 146	116 913	123 462	127 537	125 099
		Debits			-109 833	-100 728	-104 152	-109 392	-111 130
			Goods		9 512	13 800	21 742	20 585	13 873
				Credits	93 487	90 366	100 444	102 535	98 494
				Debits	-83 975	-76 566	-78 702	-81 950	-84 621
			Services		-1 199	2 385	-2 432	-2 440	96
				Credits	24 659	26 547	23 018	25 002	26 605
				Debits	-25 858	-24 162	-25 450	-27 442	-26 509
	Primary income				-15 059	-16 566	-12 843	-14 732	-12 095
		Credits			17 832	18 072	17 530	17 019	17 926
		Debits			-32 891	-34 638	-30 373	-31 751	-30 020
	Secondary income				177	-705	-172	-166	-29
		Credits			2 442	2 406	2 497	2 447	2 413
		Debits			-2 265	-3 111	-2 669	-2 613	-2 442
CAPITAL AND FINANCIAL ACCOUNT					8 626	2 333	-3 659	-5 702	-1 833
	Capital account				-162	-200	-233	-169	-179
		Acquisitions/disposals of non-produced non-financial assets			33	3	2	-4	1
			Credits		63	3	2	-	2
			Debits		-30	-	-	-4	-1
		Capital transfers			-195	-203	-235	-165	-180
			Credits		-	-	-	-	-
			Debits		-195	-203	-235	-165	-180
	Financial account				8 788	2 533	-3 426	-5 533	-1 654
		Direct investment			35 262	5 054	26 641	13 716	-1 164
			Assets		22 101	-7 252	1 482	5 075	-10 379
			Liabilities		13 161	12 305	25 159	8 641	9 216
		Portfolio investment			-8 307	-23 572	-38 390	-6 625	19 239
			Assets		-24 649	-14 055	-26 304	-25 515	-15 903
			Liabilities		16 342	-9 516	-12 086	18 890	35 142
		Financial derivatives			-5 541	-658	-1 270	2 126	-3 263
			Assets		10 375	18 159	16 824	27 332	38 086
			Liabilities		-15 916	-18 817	-18 095	-25 206	-41 350
		Other investment			-13 950	23 555	6 601	-18 287	-7 463
			Assets		-5 520	17 480	-5 121	-20 420	3 494
			Liabilities		-8 430	6 074	11 722	2 133	-10 958
		Reserve assets			1 324	-1 846	2 992	3 538	-9 003
NET ERRORS AND OMISSIONS					-2 057	-1 246	-2 636	2 455	-12

- nil or rounded to zero (including null cells)
a. For sign conventions, see the Concepts section of the Explanatory notes.

In seasonally adjusted current price terms, the December quarter 2019 current account surplus was $955m, a fall of $5,548m on the September quarter 2019 surplus.

In trend current price terms, the December quarter 2019 current account surplus was $4,017m, a fall of $768m on the September quarter 2019 surplus.

The contributors to the current account balance, in seasonally adjusted and trend terms at current prices, are shown in the following table.

Balance on current account in current prices - December quarter 2019

				Change in:
			Current prices	Current prices	Current prices
			$m	$m	%
			Seasonally Adjusted
Balance on current account			955	-5 548	-85
	Balance on goods and services		13 893	-6 021	-30
		Net goods	14 154	-6 256	-31
		Net services	-261	235	47
	Net primary income		-12 498	626	5
	Net secondary income		-440	-153	-53
			Trend
Balance on current account			4 017	-768	-16
	Balance on goods and services		16 896	-1 624	-9
		Net goods	17 217	-1 788	-9
		Net services	-321	165	34
	Net primary income		-12 542	946	7
	Net secondary income		-337	-90	-36

.. not applicable

Terms of trade (footnote 1)

Australia's seasonally adjusted terms of trade on net goods and services for the December quarter 2019 fell 5.3% to 103.5, with a decrease of 4.5% in the implicit price deflator (IPD) for goods and services credits and an increase of 0.9% in the IPD for goods and services debits.

In trend terms, the terms of trade for net goods and services fell 2.0% to 105.9.

Implicit price deflator and terms of trade(a)
	Implicit Price Deflator Goods and services credits (pts)	Implicit Price Deflator Goods and services debits (pts)	Terms of Trade (net Goods and services) (pts)
Dec-2011	113.1	92.0	123.0
Mar-2012	106.7	90.3	118.2
Jun-2012	108.3	92.5	117.1
Sep-2012	101.3	90.7	111.6
Dec-2012	99.4	91.3	108.9
Mar-2013	102.1	91.7	111.4
Jun-2013	101.6	91.5	111.0
Sep-2013	105.5	97.6	108.1
Dec-2013	105.5	97.3	108.3
Mar-2014	108.0	100.2	107.8
Jun-2014	100.0	97.5	102.6
Sep-2014	96.0	97.2	98.8
Dec-2014	95.8	98.9	96.8
Mar-2015	94.6	99.7	94.9
Jun-2015	91.4	100.4	91.0
Sep-2015	91.3	103.0	88.6
Dec-2015	87.4	102.8	85.1
Mar-2016	83.9	99.8	84.1
Jun-2016	85.0	98.6	86.2
Sep-2016	87.6	97.9	89.5
Dec-2016	97.5	98.0	99.5
Mar-2017	103.3	98.4	105.0
Jun-2017	98.0	99.1	98.9
Sep-2017	95.8	97.2	98.6
Dec-2017	98.0	99.3	98.6
Mar-2018	102.6	100.6	102.0
Jun-2018	104.1	103.3	100.7
Sep-2018	107.2	105.6	101.5
Dec-2018	110.9	106.5	104.1
Mar-2019	114.1	106.1	107.5
Jun-2019	117.2	107.4	109.1
Sep-2019	118.6	108.5	109.3
Dec-2019	113.2	109.4	103.5

Implicit price deflator and terms of trade(a)

["","Implicit Price Deflator Goods and services credits","Implicit Price Deflator Goods and services debits","Terms of Trade (net Goods and services)"]

[["Dec-2011","Mar-2012","Jun-2012","Sep-2012","Dec-2012","Mar-2013","Jun-2013","Sep-2013","Dec-2013","Mar-2014","Jun-2014","Sep-2014","Dec-2014","Mar-2015","Jun-2015","Sep-2015","Dec-2015","Mar-2016","Jun-2016","Sep-2016","Dec-2016","Mar-2017","Jun-2017","Sep-2017","Dec-2017","Mar-2018","Jun-2018","Sep-2018","Dec-2018","Mar-2019","Jun-2019","Sep-2019","Dec-2019"],[[113.09999999999999],[106.7],[108.3],[101.3],[99.400000000000006],[102.09999999999999],[101.59999999999999],[105.5],[105.5],[108],[100],[96],[95.799999999999997],[94.599999999999994],[91.400000000000006],[91.299999999999997],[87.400000000000006],[83.900000000000006],[85],[87.599999999999994],[97.5],[103.3],[98],[95.799999999999997],[98],[102.59999999999999],[104.09999999999999],[107.2],[110.90000000000001],[114.09999999999999],[117.2],[118.59999999999999],[113.2]],[[92],[90.299999999999997],[92.5],[90.700000000000003],[91.299999999999997],[91.700000000000003],[91.5],[97.599999999999994],[97.299999999999997],[100.2],[97.5],[97.200000000000003],[98.900000000000006],[99.700000000000003],[100.40000000000001],[103],[102.8],[99.799999999999997],[98.599999999999994],[97.900000000000006],[98],[98.400000000000006],[99.099999999999994],[97.200000000000003],[99.299999999999997],[100.59999999999999],[103.3],[105.59999999999999],[106.5],[106.09999999999999],[107.40000000000001],[108.5],[109.40000000000001]],[[123],[118.2],[117.09999999999999],[111.59999999999999],[108.90000000000001],[111.40000000000001],[111],[108.09999999999999],[108.3],[107.8],[102.59999999999999],[98.799999999999997],[96.799999999999997],[94.900000000000006],[91],[88.599999999999994],[85.099999999999994],[84.099999999999994],[86.200000000000003],[89.5],[99.5],[105],[98.900000000000006],[98.599999999999994],[98.599999999999994],[102],[100.7],[101.5],[104.09999999999999],[107.5],[109.09999999999999],[109.3],[103.5]]]

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Seasonally adjusted, reference year 2017-18 = 100.

Balance on goods and services

In seasonally adjusted chain volume terms, the balance on goods and services was a surplus of $8,949m, a rise of $531m on the September quarter 2019 surplus of $8,418m.

The surplus on goods rose $102m on the September quarter 2019 surplus of $7,017m. Goods credits rose $1m and goods debits fell $101m. The surplus on services rose $427m on the September quarter 2019 surplus of $1,402m.

The rise in the balance on goods and services surplus, in seasonally adjusted chain volume terms, is expected to contribute 0.1 percentage points to growth in the December quarter 2019 chain volume measure of GDP, assuming no significant revision to the GDP chain volume estimate for the September quarter 2019.

Goods and services, chain volume measures(a) ($b)
	Balance on goods and services ($b)	Balance on goods ($b)	Balance on services ($b)
Dec-2011	-16.1	-10.2	-5.7
Mar-2012	-19.2	-12.3	-6.6
Jun-2012	-16.1	-10.1	-5.8
Sep-2012	-15.6	-8.4	-7.2
Dec-2012	-15.3	-7.8	-7.5
Mar-2013	-11.9	-4.8	-7.2
Jun-2013	-11.5	-4.0	-7.8
Sep-2013	-10.0	-3.8	-6.3
Dec-2013	-8.3	-2.2	-6.2
Mar-2014	-3.8	1.2	-5.0
Jun-2014	-5.8	-1.0	-4.8
Sep-2014	-4.3	0.2	-4.4
Dec-2014	-1.4	2.1	-3.3
Mar-2015	-0.1	2.8	-2.7
Jun-2015	-3.5	-0.4	-2.9
Sep-2015	1.3	3.2	-1.7
Dec-2015	1.9	3.9	-1.9
Mar-2016	6.3	7.6	-1.2
Jun-2016	5.2	7.0	-1.7
Sep-2016	5.6	6.4	-0.8
Dec-2016	6.6	7.6	-0.9
Mar-2017	2.2	3.2	-1.0
Jun-2017	4.0	4.4	-0.5
Sep-2017	2.9	4.4	-1.5
Dec-2017	-0.2	1.6	-1.8
Mar-2018	2.6	3.8	-1.2
Jun-2018	2.3	3.0	-0.6
Sep-2018	4.5	5.1	-0.5
Dec-2018	3.9	4.5	-0.6
Mar-2019	5.9	5.4	0.5
Jun-2019	8.2	7.5	0.7
Sep-2019	8.4	7.0	1.4
Dec-2019	8.9	7.1	1.8

Goods and services, chain volume measures(a) ($b)

["","Balance on goods and services","Balance on goods","Balance on services"]

[["Dec-2011","Mar-2012","Jun-2012","Sep-2012","Dec-2012","Mar-2013","Jun-2013","Sep-2013","Dec-2013","Mar-2014","Jun-2014","Sep-2014","Dec-2014","Mar-2015","Jun-2015","Sep-2015","Dec-2015","Mar-2016","Jun-2016","Sep-2016","Dec-2016","Mar-2017","Jun-2017","Sep-2017","Dec-2017","Mar-2018","Jun-2018","Sep-2018","Dec-2018","Mar-2019","Jun-2019","Sep-2019","Dec-2019"],[[-16.100000000000001],[-19.199999999999999],[-16.100000000000001],[-15.6],[-15.300000000000001],[-11.9],[-11.5],[-10],[-8.3000000000000007],[-3.7999999999999998],[-5.7999999999999998],[-4.2999999999999998],[-1.3999999999999999],[-0.10000000000000001],[-3.5],[1.3],[1.8999999999999999],[6.2999999999999998],[5.2000000000000002],[5.5999999999999996],[6.5999999999999996],[2.2000000000000002],[4],[2.8999999999999999],[-0.20000000000000001],[2.6000000000000001],[2.2999999999999998],[4.5],[3.8999999999999999],[5.9000000000000004],[8.1999999999999993],[8.4000000000000004],[8.9000000000000004]],[[-10.199999999999999],[-12.300000000000001],[-10.1],[-8.4000000000000004],[-7.7999999999999998],[-4.7999999999999998],[-4],[-3.7999999999999998],[-2.2000000000000002],[1.2],[-1],[0.20000000000000001],[2.1000000000000001],[2.7999999999999998],[-0.40000000000000002],[3.2000000000000002],[3.8999999999999999],[7.5999999999999996],[7],[6.4000000000000004],[7.5999999999999996],[3.2000000000000002],[4.4000000000000004],[4.4000000000000004],[1.6000000000000001],[3.7999999999999998],[3],[5.0999999999999996],[4.5],[5.4000000000000004],[7.5],[7],[7.0999999999999996]],[[-5.7000000000000002],[-6.5999999999999996],[-5.7999999999999998],[-7.2000000000000002],[-7.5],[-7.2000000000000002],[-7.7999999999999998],[-6.2999999999999998],[-6.2000000000000002],[-5],[-4.7999999999999998],[-4.4000000000000004],[-3.2999999999999998],[-2.7000000000000002],[-2.8999999999999999],[-1.7],[-1.8999999999999999],[-1.2],[-1.7],[-0.80000000000000004],[-0.90000000000000002],[-1],[-0.5],[-1.5],[-1.8],[-1.2],[-0.59999999999999998],[-0.5],[-0.59999999999999998],[0.5],[0.69999999999999996],[1.3999999999999999],[1.8]]]

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Seasonally adjusted, reference year 2017-18.

Goods

The trend estimate of net goods at current prices for the December quarter 2019 was a surplus of $17,217m, a fall of $1,788m on the September quarter 2019 surplus of $19,005m.

In seasonally adjusted terms at current prices, net goods was a surplus of $14,154m, a fall of $6,256m on the September quarter 2019 surplus of $20,410m.

Goods, price and volume analysis: seasonally adjusted - December quarter 2019

			Change in:
	Current prices	Current prices	Chain volume measures(a)	Implicit price deflators(a)(b)
	$m	%	%	%
Exports	-5 812	-5.8	-	-5.8
Rural goods	805	7.1	3.2	3.8
Non-rural goods	-5 128	-6.2	1.3	-7.4
Net exports of goods under merchanting	-23	-59.0	-55.7	-7.4
Non-monetary gold	-1 466	-19.4	-19.8	0.5
Imports	443	0.5	-0.1	0.7
Consumption goods	170	0.6	-0.2	0.9
Capital goods	512	2.7	1.9	0.8
Intermediate and other merchandise goods	1 049	3.2	2.1	1.1
Non-monetary gold	-1 287	-49.2	-49.6	0.8

- nil or rounded to zero (including null cells)
a. Reference year 2017-18.
b. Movements in indexes are based on data to four decimal places.

Goods credits

The trend estimate of goods credits at current prices fell $1,370m (1%) to $97,831m in the December quarter 2019.

In seasonally adjusted terms at current prices, goods credits fell $5,812m (6%) to $95,254m, with prices down 6%.

Rural goods

Exports of rural goods, in seasonally adjusted terms at current prices, rose $805m (7%) to $12,164m, with volumes up 3% and prices up 4%.

The main components contributing to the rise were:

meat and meat preparations, up $414m (10%), with volumes up 3% and prices up 7%
other rural, up $207m (4%), with volumes up 2% and prices up 2%
cereal grains and cereal preparations, up $174m (13%), with volumes up 13%.

Non-rural goods

Exports of non-rural goods, in seasonally adjusted terms at current prices, fell $5,128m (6%) to $76,979m, with volumes up 1% and prices down 7%.

The main components contributing to the fall were:

metal ores and minerals, down $3,164m (9%), with volumes up 1% and prices down 10%
coal, coke and briquettes, down $1,928m (12%), with volumes up 3% and prices down 15%
other mineral fuels, down $552m (4%), with volumes down 2% and prices down 1%
other non-rural (incl. sugar and beverages), down $240m (9%), with volumes down 8%.

Partly offsetting these falls were:

machinery, up $292m (10%), with volumes up 11%
other manufactures, up $268m (4%), with volumes up 5%
transport equipment, up $210m (18%), with volumes up 17%.

Selected major commodities, current prices(a) ($b)
	Metal ores and minerals ($b)	Coal, coke and briquettes ($b)	Other mineral fuels ($b)
Dec-2011	21.6	12.9	6.3
Mar-2012	19.1	11.2	6.4
Jun-2012	21.2	10.8	6.8
Sep-2012	18.1	10.3	7.3
Dec-2012	18.3	9.4	6.7
Mar-2013	21.1	9.3	6.0
Jun-2013	21.9	10.0	6.4
Sep-2013	23.5	10.2	7.0
Dec-2013	24.6	10.4	6.4
Mar-2014	26.2	10.4	8.0
Jun-2014	22.3	9.1	8.0
Sep-2014	20.5	9.1	7.4
Dec-2014	20.0	9.6	7.3
Mar-2015	19.6	10.4	6.6
Jun-2015	17.9	9.0	5.2
Sep-2015	18.4	9.3	5.9
Dec-2015	16.3	8.5	6.0
Mar-2016	16.2	8.2	5.7
Jun-2016	17.8	8.5	5.1
Sep-2016	18.3	9.2	5.9
Dec-2016	21.7	16.1	7.0
Mar-2017	24.8	15.8	7.5
Jun-2017	20.8	13.3	8.6
Sep-2017	21.4	13.9	8.1
Dec-2017	21.5	14.3	8.3
Mar-2018	23.4	16.5	11.1
Jun-2018	23.6	15.9	12.1
Sep-2018	23.3	16.8	14.2
Dec-2018	25.0	17.7	16.0
Mar-2019	27.7	17.8	15.6
Jun-2019	33.8	17.3	14.7
Sep-2019	34.5	15.5	15.6
Dec-2019	31.3	13.6	15.0

Selected major commodities, current prices(a) ($b)

["","Metal ores and minerals","Coal, coke and briquettes","Other mineral fuels"]

[["Dec-2011","Mar-2012","Jun-2012","Sep-2012","Dec-2012","Mar-2013","Jun-2013","Sep-2013","Dec-2013","Mar-2014","Jun-2014","Sep-2014","Dec-2014","Mar-2015","Jun-2015","Sep-2015","Dec-2015","Mar-2016","Jun-2016","Sep-2016","Dec-2016","Mar-2017","Jun-2017","Sep-2017","Dec-2017","Mar-2018","Jun-2018","Sep-2018","Dec-2018","Mar-2019","Jun-2019","Sep-2019","Dec-2019"],[[21.600000000000001],[19.100000000000001],[21.199999999999999],[18.100000000000001],[18.300000000000001],[21.100000000000001],[21.899999999999999],[23.5],[24.600000000000001],[26.199999999999999],[22.300000000000001],[20.5],[20],[19.600000000000001],[17.899999999999999],[18.399999999999999],[16.300000000000001],[16.199999999999999],[17.800000000000001],[18.300000000000001],[21.699999999999999],[24.800000000000001],[20.800000000000001],[21.399999999999999],[21.5],[23.399999999999999],[23.600000000000001],[23.300000000000001],[25],[27.699999999999999],[33.799999999999997],[34.5],[31.300000000000001]],[[12.9],[11.199999999999999],[10.800000000000001],[10.300000000000001],[9.4000000000000004],[9.3000000000000007],[10],[10.199999999999999],[10.4],[10.4],[9.0999999999999996],[9.0999999999999996],[9.5999999999999996],[10.4],[9],[9.3000000000000007],[8.5],[8.1999999999999993],[8.5],[9.1999999999999993],[16.100000000000001],[15.800000000000001],[13.300000000000001],[13.9],[14.300000000000001],[16.5],[15.9],[16.800000000000001],[17.699999999999999],[17.800000000000001],[17.300000000000001],[15.5],[13.6]],[[6.2999999999999998],[6.4000000000000004],[6.7999999999999998],[7.2999999999999998],[6.7000000000000002],[6],[6.4000000000000004],[7],[6.4000000000000004],[8],[8],[7.4000000000000004],[7.2999999999999998],[6.5999999999999996],[5.2000000000000002],[5.9000000000000004],[6],[5.7000000000000002],[5.0999999999999996],[5.9000000000000004],[7],[7.5],[8.5999999999999996],[8.0999999999999996],[8.3000000000000007],[11.1],[12.1],[14.199999999999999],[16],[15.6],[14.699999999999999],[15.6],[15]]]

[]

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Seasonally adjusted.

Net exports of goods under merchanting

Net exports of goods under merchanting, in seasonally adjusted terms at current prices, fell $23m (59%) to $16m, with volumes down 56% and prices down 7%.

Non-monetary gold

Exports of non-monetary gold, in original and seasonally adjusted terms at current prices, fell $1,466m (19%) to $6,095m, with volumes down 20% and prices up 1%.

Goods debits

The trend estimate of goods debits at current prices rose $419m (1%) to $80,615m in the December quarter 2019.

In seasonally adjusted terms at current prices, goods debits rose $443m (1%) to $81,099m, with prices up 1%.

Consumption goods

Imports of consumption goods, in seasonally adjusted terms at current prices, rose $170m (1%) to $26,598m, with prices up 1%.

The main components contributing to the rise were:

consumption goods n.e.s., up $206m (2%), with volumes up 1% and prices up 1%
household electrical items, up $78m (5%), with volumes up 5%.

Partly offsetting these rises was non-industrial transport equipment, down $144m (2%), with volumes down 3% and prices up 1%

Capital goods

Imports of capital goods, in seasonally adjusted terms at current prices, rose $512m (3%) to $19,503m, with volumes up 2% and prices up 1%.

The main components contributing to the rise were:

ADP equipment, up $367m (14%), with volumes up 15% and prices down 1%
civil aircraft and confidentialised items, up $326m (37%), with volumes up 35% and prices up 1%
capital goods n.e.s., up $295m (10%), with volumes up 10%.

Partly offsetting these rises were:

industrial transport equipment n.e.s., down $356m (13%), with volumes down 12%
telecommunications equipment, down $198m (5%), with volumes down 6%.

Intermediate and other merchandise goods

Imports of intermediate and other merchandise goods, in seasonally adjusted terms at current prices, rose $1,049m (3%) to $33,671m, with volumes up 2% and prices up 1%.

The main components contributing to the rise were:

fuels and lubricants, up $914m (10%), with volumes up 7% and prices up 3%
other parts for capital goods, up $180m (4%), with volumes up 3%
parts for transport equipment, up $114m (3%), with volumes up 2% and prices up 1%.

Partly offsetting these rises was processed industrial supplies n.e.s., down $180m (2%), with volumes down 2%.

Non-monetary gold

Imports of non-monetary gold, in original and seasonally adjusted terms at current prices, fell $1,287m (49%) to $1,327m, with volumes down 50% and prices up 1%.

Services

The trend estimate of net services at current prices was a deficit of $321m, a fall of $165m on the September quarter 2019 deficit of $486m.

In seasonally adjusted terms at current prices, net services was a deficit of $261m, a fall of $235m on the September quarter 2019 deficit of $496m.

Services, price and volume analysis: seasonally adjusted - December quarter 2019

			Change in:
	Current prices	Current prices	Chain volume measures(a)	Implicit price deflators(a)(b)
	$m	%	%	%
Exports	127	0.5	-	0.5
Manufacturing services on physical inputs owned by others	-	-	-	-
Maintenance and repair services n.i.e.	7	116.7	116.5	0.1
Transport	30	1.5	1.4	0.1
Travel	290	1.7	1.1	0.6
Other services	-200	-2.8	-3.0	0.2
Imports	-108	-0.4	-1.8	1.4
Manufacturing services on physical inputs owned by others	-	-	-	-
Maintenance and repair services n.i.e.	-40	-13.1	-14.4	1.6
Transport	18	0.4	1.6	-1.2
Travel	187	1.4	-0.8	2.3
Other services	-273	-3.3	-4.9	1.7

- nil or rounded to zero (including null cells)
a. Reference year 2017-18.
b. Movements in indexes are based on data to four decimal places.

Services credits

Services credits, in seasonally adjusted terms at current prices, rose $127m to $25,854m.

The main component contributing to the rise was travel, up $290m (2%), with volumes up 1% and prices up 1%.

Partly offsetting this rise was other services, down $200m (3%), with volumes down 3%.

In seasonally adjusted terms, tourism related services credits rose $298m (2%) to $17,694m.

Services debits

Services debits, in seasonally adjusted terms at current prices, fell $108m to $26,115m, with volumes down 2% and prices up 1%.

The main component contributing to the fall was other services, down $273m (3%), with volumes down 5% and prices up 2%.

Partly offsetting this rise was travel, up $187m (1%), with volumes down 1% and prices up 2%.

In seasonally adjusted terms, tourism related services debits rose $138m (1%) to $15,079m.

Primary income

The trend estimate of the net primary income deficit at current prices fell $946m to $12,542m in the December quarter 2019.

In seasonally adjusted terms at current prices, the net primary income deficit fell $626m to $12,498m in the December quarter 2019.

Net primary income ($b)
	Trend ($b)	Seasonally adjusted ($b)
Dec-2011	-12.0	-12.2
Mar-2012	-10.8	-10.8
Jun-2012	-10.0	-9.8
Sep-2012	-9.5	-9.5
Dec-2012	-9.4	-9.8
Mar-2013	-9.5	-9.0
Jun-2013	-9.9	-10.1
Sep-2013	-10.6	-10.7
Dec-2013	-11.0	-10.8
Mar-2014	-10.5	-11.2
Jun-2014	-9.5	-9.2
Sep-2014	-8.4	-8.3
Dec-2014	-7.8	-7.9
Mar-2015	-8.2	-7.9
Jun-2015	-9.3	-9.1
Sep-2015	-9.9	-10.6
Dec-2015	-9.9	-10.1
Mar-2016	-9.3	-8.4
Jun-2016	-9.4	-10.2
Sep-2016	-10.4	-9.4
Dec-2016	-11.7	-12.3
Mar-2017	-12.8	-12.9
Jun-2017	-13.5	-13.5
Sep-2017	-13.8	-13.7
Dec-2017	-14.1	-14.2
Mar-2018	-14.7	-14.4
Jun-2018	-15.3	-15.5
Sep-2018	-15.7	-15.9
Dec-2018	-15.8	-15.2
Mar-2019	-15.5	-16.1
Jun-2019	-14.6	-14.7
Sep-2019	-13.5	-13.1
Dec-2019	-12.5	-12.5

Net primary income ($b)

["","Trend","Seasonally adjusted"]

[["Dec-2011","Mar-2012","Jun-2012","Sep-2012","Dec-2012","Mar-2013","Jun-2013","Sep-2013","Dec-2013","Mar-2014","Jun-2014","Sep-2014","Dec-2014","Mar-2015","Jun-2015","Sep-2015","Dec-2015","Mar-2016","Jun-2016","Sep-2016","Dec-2016","Mar-2017","Jun-2017","Sep-2017","Dec-2017","Mar-2018","Jun-2018","Sep-2018","Dec-2018","Mar-2019","Jun-2019","Sep-2019","Dec-2019"],[[-12],[-10.800000000000001],[-10],[-9.5],[-9.4000000000000004],[-9.5],[-9.9000000000000004],[-10.6],[-11],[-10.5],[-9.5],[-8.4000000000000004],[-7.7999999999999998],[-8.1999999999999993],[-9.3000000000000007],[-9.9000000000000004],[-9.9000000000000004],[-9.3000000000000007],[-9.4000000000000004],[-10.4],[-11.699999999999999],[-12.800000000000001],[-13.5],[-13.800000000000001],[-14.1],[-14.699999999999999],[-15.300000000000001],[-15.699999999999999],[-15.800000000000001],[-15.5],[-14.6],[-13.5],[-12.5]],[[-12.199999999999999],[-10.800000000000001],[-9.8000000000000007],[-9.5],[-9.8000000000000007],[-9],[-10.1],[-10.699999999999999],[-10.800000000000001],[-11.199999999999999],[-9.1999999999999993],[-8.3000000000000007],[-7.9000000000000004],[-7.9000000000000004],[-9.0999999999999996],[-10.6],[-10.1],[-8.4000000000000004],[-10.199999999999999],[-9.4000000000000004],[-12.300000000000001],[-12.9],[-13.5],[-13.699999999999999],[-14.199999999999999],[-14.4],[-15.5],[-15.9],[-15.199999999999999],[-16.100000000000001],[-14.699999999999999],[-13.1],[-12.5]]]

[]

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Primary income credits

Primary income credits, in seasonally adjusted terms at current prices, rose $22m to $17,469m.

The main components contributing to the rise were:

investment income from portfolio investment assets, up $299m (3%)
compensation of employees, up $43m (7%),

Partly offsetting these rises was investment income from direct investment assets, down $250m (4%).

Primary income debits

Primary income debits, in seasonally adjusted terms at current prices, fell $604m (2%) to $29,967m.

The main component contributing to the fall was investment income from direct investment liabilities, down $877m (6%).

Partly offsetting this fall was investment income from portfolio investment liabilities, up $260m (2%).

Secondary income

The trend estimate of the net secondary income deficit at current prices rose $90m to $337m in the December quarter 2019.

In seasonally adjusted terms at current prices, the net secondary income deficit rose $153m to $440m in the December quarter 2019.

Capital account

In original terms, the capital account deficit was $179m, an increase of $10m on the September quarter 2019 deficit of $169m. Capital account credits remained steady at $2m and capital account debits increased $12m (7%) in the December quarter 2019.

Financial account

The balance on the financial account, in original terms, recorded a net outflow of $1.7b, which was driven by a net outflow of equity of $7.8b and a net inflow of debt of $6.1b.

The financial account deficit decreased $3.9b from $5.5b in the September quarter 2019, to $1.7b in the December quarter 2019.

Direct investment

Direct investment recorded a net outflow of $1.2b in the December quarter 2019, a turnaround of $14.9b on the net inflow of $13.7b in the September quarter 2019, where:

direct investment liabilities recorded an inflow of $9.2b, an increase of $0.6b on the inflow of $8.6b in the September quarter 2019
direct investment assets recorded an outflow of $10.4b, a turnaround of $15.5b on the inflow of $5.1b in the September quarter 2019.

Portfolio investment

Portfolio investment recorded a net inflow of $19.2b in the December quarter 2019, a turnaround of $25.9b on the net outflow of $6.6b in the September quarter 2019, where:

equity and investment fund shares recorded a net outflow of $11.8b in the December quarter 2019, a decrease of $2.6b on the net outflow of $14.4b in the September quarter 2019
debt securities recorded a net inflow of $31.1b in the December quarter 2019, an increase of $23.3b on the net inflow of $7.8b in the September quarter 2019.

Financial derivatives

Financial derivatives recorded a net outflow of $3.3b in the December quarter 2019, a turnaround of $5.4b on the net inflow of $2.1b in the September quarter 2019.

Other investment

Other investment recorded a net outflow of $7.5b in the December quarter 2019, a decrease of $10.8b on the net outflow of $18.3b in the September quarter 2019. This was mainly driven by net outflows of $12.6b in loans and net inflows of $7.3b in currency and deposits.

Reserve assets

Reserve assets recorded an outflow of $9.0b in the December quarter 2019, a turnaround of $12.5b on the inflow of $3.5b in the September quarter 2019.

International investment position (IIP)

Australia's net IIP liability position was $891.5b at 31 December 2019, a decrease of $83.4b on the revised 30 September 2019 position of $974.9b. Australia's net foreign debt liability position decreased $20.9b to $1,143.5b. Australia's net foreign equity asset position increased $62.6b to $252.1b at 31 December 2019.

International investment position, by net foreign equity and net foreign debt

			Changes in position reflecting
		Position at beginning of period	Transactions	Price changes	Exchange rate changes	Other adjustments	Position at end of period
		$m	$m	$m	$m	$m	$m
Net International Investment Position
	Jun 2019	991 048	-3 426	4 910	6 292	-2 158	996 666
	Sep 2019	996 666	-5 533	-237	-4 908	-11 063	974 925
	Dec 2019	974 925	-1 654	-89 395	10 519	-2 914	891 482
Net Foreign Equity
	Jun 2019	-132 344	5 383	-4 554	-10 363	-4 300	-146 179
	Sep 2019	-146 179	-2 269	-7 326	-19 480	-14 222	-189 476
	Dec 2019	-189 476	-7 771	-75 277	25 595	-5 135	-252 064
Net Foreign Debt
	Jun 2019	1 123 392	-8 808	9 464	16 655	2 142	1 142 845
	Sep 2019	1 142 845	-3 264	7 090	14 572	3 159	1 164 402
	Dec 2019	1 164 402	6 117	-14 117	-15 076	2 221	1 143 546

Supplementary information

Conditions

According to the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) (footnote 2) preliminary growth rates compared to last quarter in seasonally adjusted terms showed quarterly growth for China (1.5%), Indonesia (1.2%), South Korea (1.2%), the USA (0.5%), Spain (0.5%), Belgium (0.4%), Netherlands (0.4%), the EU 28 (0.1%), the UK (0.0%), Germany (0.0%) and Japan (-1.6%).

Foreign asset transactions recorded an inflow of $6.3b in the December quarter 2019 compared to an outflow of $10.0b in the September quarter 2019
Foreign liability transactions recorded an outflow of $7.9b in the December quarter 2019 compared to an inflow of $4.5b in the September quarter 2019.

The Australian share market, as measured by the MSCI global index (footnote 3), decreased 0.7% in the December quarter 2019, compared to an increase of 1.2% in the September quarter 2019. Increases were recorded in China (13.9%), the USA (8.6%), New Zealand (8.7%), Japan (8.1%), Germany (6.7%), Hong Kong (6.3%), France (5.3%), Switzerland (4.5%), Singapore (3.8%), Canada (2.2%) and the UK (1.4%). A market price change of -$69.3b was recorded for foreign equity assets and -$6.0b for foreign equity liabilities in the December quarter 2019.

According to Thomson Reuters (footnote 4), the composite corporate benchmark yields decreased in the USA from 3.01% to 2.94%, and increased in the UK from 1.83% to 1.99%, Germany from 0.50% to 0.63% and Japan from 0.30% to 0.41% over the December quarter 2019. The long-term 10 year government bond yields increased in the USA from 1.68% to 1.92%, Australia from 1.03% to 1.20%, the UK from 0.49% to 0.82%, Japan from -0.22% to -0.02% and Germany from -0.57% to -0.19% over the December quarter 2019. A market price change of $0.9b was recorded for portfolio investment debt securities assets and -$18.4b for portfolio investment debt securities liabilities in the December quarter 2019.

The Australian dollar appreciated against most major trading currencies in the December quarter 2019. The Australian dollar appreciated 4.70% against the Japanese yen, 4.70% against the Indian rupee, 3.81% against the US dollar, 3.07% against the Hong Kong dollar, 2.35% against the Canadian dollar, 1.64% against the Chinese renminbi, 1.35% against the European euro, 1.21% against the Singapore dollar and 0.21% against the South Korean won. The Trade Weighted Index (TWI)(footnote 5) rose 1.86% to 60.30. The Australian dollar depreciated 2.70% against the UK pound sterling and 3.42% against the New Zealand dollar in the December quarter 2019. These movements were reflected in exchange rate changes for foreign assets of $36.2b and foreign liabilities of -$25.6b in the December quarter 2019.

Relationship between IPD, EPI and IPI (footnote 6)

In original terms, the IPD for total goods credits fell 5.7% and the chain Laspeyres price index for goods exports fell 5.7%. The Export Price Index (EPI)(footnote 7) fell 5.2% during the December quarter 2019.

In original terms, the IPD for total goods debits rose 0.7% and the chain Laspeyres price index for goods imports rose 0.8%. The Import Price Index (IPI) (footnote 7) rose 0.7% during the December quarter 2019.

Differences between the IPD and International Trade Price Indexes can arise due to a number of methodological factors including differences in pricing points, timing, coverage and weights.

Goods and services, price comparison - December quarter 2019

				Change in:
		Seasonally adjusted		Original
		Implicit price deflators(a)	Implicit price deflators(a)	International trade price indexes(b)	Chain Laspeyres price indexes(a)
		%	%	%	%
Exports
	Goods	-5.8	-5.7	-5.2	-5.7
	Services	0.5	0.5	na	0.5
Imports
	Goods	0.7	0.7	0.7	0.8
	Services	1.4	1.4	na	1.4

na not available
a. Reference year 2017-18 = 100.
b. Source: International Trade Price Indexes, Australia (cat. no. 6457.0).

Implicit price deflators and international trade price indexes
	Implicit Price Deflators Goods credits (a) (pts)	Implicit Price Deflators Goods debits (a) (pts)	Export Price Index (b) (pts)	Import Price Index (b) (pts)
Dec-2011	119.3	95.3	103.0	100.6
Mar-2012	111.0	94.3	95.8	99.4
Jun-2012	112.6	96.1	96.7	101.8
Sep-2012	103.6	93.9	90.5	99.4
Dec-2012	100.7	94.4	88.3	99.7
Mar-2013	104.3	94.4	90.8	99.7
Jun-2013	103.4	94.2	90.5	99.4
Sep-2013	108.2	100.3	94.3	105.5
Dec-2013	107.8	99.9	93.8	104.9
Mar-2014	110.8	102.9	96.4	108.3
Jun-2014	100.7	99.7	88.8	105.1
Sep-2014	95.8	99.1	85.3	104.3
Dec-2014	95.3	100.5	85.3	105.2
Mar-2015	93.9	100.1	84.6	105.0
Jun-2015	89.8	101.2	80.9	106.5
Sep-2015	89.5	103.4	80.9	108.0
Dec-2015	84.5	103.1	76.5	107.7
Mar-2016	80.3	99.3	72.9	104.5
Jun-2016	81.8	98.3	73.9	103.5
Sep-2016	84.8	97.7	76.9	102.5
Dec-2016	97.3	98.0	88.2	102.7
Mar-2017	104.0	98.8	96.0	103.9
Jun-2017	97.6	98.9	90.5	103.8
Sep-2017	94.7	97.0	87.8	102.1
Dec-2017	97.3	99.0	90.3	104.5
Mar-2018	103.3	100.6	94.7	106.6
Jun-2018	104.8	103.4	96.5	110.0
Sep-2018	108.7	105.6	100.1	112.1
Dec-2018	113.4	106.4	104.5	112.7
Mar-2019	117.7	105.7	109.2	112.1
Jun-2019	121.5	106.7	113.3	113.1
Sep-2019	123.2	107.4	114.8	113.5
Dec-2019	116.2	108.2	108.8	114.3

Implicit price deflators and international trade price indexes

["","Implicit Price Deflators Goods credits (a)","Implicit Price Deflators Goods debits (a)","Export Price Index (b)","Import Price Index (b)"]

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Reference year 2017-18 = 100.
Source: International Trade Price Indexes, Australia (cat. no. 6457.0).

Commodity price indexes

The RBA Commodity Price Index (average monthly index) for rural commodities rose 3.1% between the September quarter 2019 and the December quarter 2019 while the EPI for rural goods rose 3.0%.

The RBA Commodity Price Index for non-rural commodities fell 8.3% between the September quarter 2019 and the December quarter 2019 while the EPI for non-rural goods (excluding non-monetary gold) fell 7.0%.

Differences between the RBA Commodity Price Index and ABS price measures are largely a consequence of methodological differences used in the construction of the respective indexes, including coverage of included commodities and timing of source data.

Calendar year 2019 situation

Current account

In original terms, the balance on current account for 2019 was a surplus of $10.3b, a turnaround of $49.4b on the deficit of $39.1b recorded for 2018. The balance on goods and services was a surplus of $67.6b, a rise of $44.6b on the surplus of $23.0b recorded for 2018.

The 2019 goods surplus of $70.0b was a rise of $41.7b on the surplus of $28.3b in 2018.

The 2019 services deficit of $2.4b was a fall of $2.9b on the deficit of $5.3b in 2018.

The 2019 net primary income deficit fell $4.9b, with a rise in primary income credits of $5.4b (8%) and a rise in primary income debits of $0.5b.

The 2019 net secondary income deficit rose $0.2b, with a rise in secondary income credits of $0.3b (3%) and a rise in secondary income debits of $0.5b (4%).

Financial account

The balance on financial account recorded a net outflow of $8.1b, with a net inflow on equity of $5.8b and a net outflow on debt of $13.9b. This result was a turnaround of $55.1b on the net inflow of $47.1b recorded for the previous year as a result of:

a decrease of $38.3b on the net inflow on direct investment
an increase of $32.7b on the net outflow on portfolio investment
a turnaround of $30.6b from the net outflow to the net inflow on other investment
a turnaround of $18.7b from the net inflow to the net outflow on reserve assets
a decrease of $3.9b on the net outflow on financial derivatives.

International investment position

Australia's net international investment position as at 31 December 2019 was a net foreign liability of $891.5b. This was a decrease of $126.4b (12%) on the position a year ago as a result of:

net transactions of -$8.1b
price changes of -$112.1b
exchange rate changes of $15.1b
other changes of -$21.4b.

During 2019, Australia's net foreign equity asset increased $152.9b on the previous year, to a net asset position of $252.1b, with net transactions of $5.8b, price changes of -$127.3b, exchange rate changes of -$1.2b and other changes of -$30.3b.

Australia's net foreign debt liability increased $26.5b on the previous year, to a net liability position of $1,143.5b, with net transactions of -$13.9b, price changes of $15.2b, exchange rate changes of $16.3b and other changes of $8.9b.

At 31 December 2019, the ratio of Australia's net international investment position to GDP using the latest available GDP figure (for the year ended 30 September 2019 using seasonally adjusted current prices) was 45.2%. This compares with 53.6% one year ago.

Footnotes

Revisions

The following goods component has been revised since the release of the December 2019 issue of International Trade in Goods and Services, Australia (cat. no. 5368.0).

capital goods n.e.s. component of goods debits, revised in the December quarter 2019.

Summary of revisions since the last issue of this publication

Table 28 summarises revisions, in original current price terms, since the last issue of this publication.

Incorporation of the latest survey and administrative data has resulted in revisions to the balance of payments series back to the September quarter 2018. In original current price terms, these revisions have:

increased the 2018-19 current account deficit by $125m
decreased the current account surplus for the September quarter 2019 by $1,927m.

The International Investment Position (IIP) has been revised back to the September quarter 2018. These revisions have decreased Australia's net IIP liability $1,064m to a net liability position of $974,925m at 30 September 2019. The financial account deficit has been revised down $2,201m to $5,533m at 30 September 2019.

Seasonally adjusted and trend series have been revised due to the incorporation of revised estimates and the incorporation of estimates for the latest quarter.

In seasonally adjusted terms, the revisions decreased the volume surplus on goods and services by $867m for the September quarter 2019.

Data in this issue aligns with the data in the December quarter 2019 issue of Australian National Accounts: National Income, Expenditure and Product (cat. no. 5206.0) to be released on 4 March 2020.

Value adjustments

Goods credits data presented in this publication are based on information provided by exporters to the Department of Home Affairs (Home Affairs). At the time of initial reporting to Home Affairs, the final prices at which transactions take place are not known for some commodities. Final quantity and/or unit price information is updated progressively in international merchandise trade data as exporters revise the information provided to Home Affairs.

For commodities such as iron ore and coal, newly negotiated contract prices are not fully reflected in data first reported to Home Affairs. When additional information on quantity and/or unit price for these commodities is available, the ABS may adjust the data to reflect actual transaction values.

Iron ore adjustments are applied on an international merchandise trade basis at the Australian Harmonized Export Commodity Classification (AHECC) level. Coal, coke and briquettes are adjusted on a balance of payments basis in original current price terms. When actual final transaction prices become available estimates are replaced with these data.

In most instances, transfer of ownership occurs when goods cross the customs frontier. In certain circumstances the ownership of large value capital expenditure items can occur prior to the items crossing the customs frontier. The ABS may adjust the relevant balance of payments series to record the timing when transfer of ownership was effected.

Exports on an international merchandise trade basis

Iron ore (in original terms)

adjustments have been applied to iron ore lump in the September quarter (+$70m) and the December quarter (+$425m) 2019. Adjustments have been applied to iron ore fines in the June quarter (+$5m), the September quarter (+$15m) and the December quarter (+$750m) 2019. When actual final transaction prices become available estimates are replaced with these data.

Goods credits on a balance of payments basis

Coal (in original terms)

adjustments have been applied to coal, coke and briquettes in the balance of payments series for the December quarter (-$535m) 2019. All previous adjustments have been removed.

Capital expenditure (in original terms)

the balance of payments goods debits component capital goods n.e.s. includes an estimate of expenditure on capital goods that have changed ownership but have not yet crossed the customs frontier.

Related releases

International investment position, Australia: supplementary statistics

The publication International Investment Position, Australia: Supplementary Statistics, 2019 (cat. no. 5352.0) will be released on the ABS website on 7 May 2020.

International trade, Australia: supplementary statistics calendar year

The publication International Trade: Supplementary Information, Calendar Year, 2019 (cat. no. 5368.0.55.004) will be released on the ABS website on 21 May 2020.