A recovery in coal exports has boosted prospects for improved economic growth.
Australia's trade balance rose to a surplus of $2.47 billion in May, from a revised $90 million surplus in April when supplies of coal slumped following Cyclone Debbie.
Coal is Australia's second-largest export earner.
Economists were only expecting the surplus to recover to $1.1 billion in May.
Mineral-oil exports, led by liquefied natural gas, also contributed, rising 39 per cent.
Imports rose by $205 million, or 1 per cent, in May.
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