Australia registers the first current account deficit in three years

Last quarter the current account of Australia showed a deficit for the first time in three years. Most miners paid the dividends abroad, and the stable inner demand was maintained by import. Economic growth hasn’t slowed down as much as previously thought. 

On Thursday, the Australian Bureau of Statistics provided its data. It showed that the current account has shrunk to a deficit. In the July-September quarter, the deficit was A$2.3 billion. When converted to US dollars, this amount equals 1.54 billion dollars.

Such a sum is lower than the A$14.7 billion surplus achieved last quarter. Analysts were expecting a surplus of 6.2 billion, but these forecasts turned out to be wrong.

According to the acting head of international statistics at the ABS Grace Kim, this situation reflects a shrinking but persistent trade surplus. It was offset in the September quarter by an extremely high revenue shortfall.