Current account surplus falls $4.8b on commodity prices

The news: Australia's current account balance slipped $4.8 billion to $7.7 billion (seasonally adjusted) in the June quarter as key export commodity prices slumped.

The numbers: The balance on goods and services fell $8 billion to $31.4 billion and the net primary income deficit fell $3.2 billion to $23.4 billion. Australia's terms of trade fell 7.9%, the largest drop since the June quarter 2009. Exports of goods fell 7%, the biggest drop since 2014, as coal and LNG prices normalised after peaking in the months following Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Australia's capital and financial account deficit increased $7.8 billion to $17.2 billion.

The context: Although commodity prices eased in the June quarter, annual prices were still solid, and Australian LNG exports for the year topped $100 billion for the first time.