Commodity Volumes Down To Much Of Asia

Australia’s merchandise exports to Asia were generally weak again in January with them falling to China on the month after rising in January 2023 on the back of China’s re-opening, which resulted in shipments to Australia’s largest destination little changed on a year ago.

• Exports to Japan and Korea remained weak falling 25.5% y/y and -14.9% y/y respectively in January. They are the second and third most important destinations for Australian goods. Taiwan was also weak falling 36% y/y and India -27.6%, they are the fourth and fifth largest destinations. On a brighter note exports to the US rose 15.7% y/y.
• Iron ore and coal export volumes to China fell sharply in January but the former was strong to Korea while the latter fell. Higher iron and coal prices provided some support given that total quantities were sharply lower. There appears to be some volatility as volumes rose in December.
• LNG export volumes were down 4.8% m/m but this was after a 14.7% rise in December. Prices rose 4.4% after falling 3.3%.

Source: MNI - Market News/ABS