Imports Crush Export Growth in Australia; Widest Margin in 5 Years

“Australia’s trade deficit widened in March to the biggest in almost 2 1/2 years as a 5 percent rise in imports outpaced export growth in an economy driven by the mining industry.

Imports outpaced exports by A$1.587 billion ($1.6 billion), from a revised A$754 million deficit in February, the Bureau of Statistics said in a report in Sydney today. The gap was the widest since a A$1.595 billion shortfall in October 2009 and exceeded the A$1.3 billion median estimate in a Bloomberg News survey of 20 economists.”

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