Australia's account deficit decreased 14.7 per cent in the March quarter, going from $3.4 billion to $2.9 billion, driven by the rising price of iron ore.
Australia had the largest goods and services surplus on record for the quarter at $13.6 billion, an increase of $4.8 billion, the Australian Bureau of Statistics announced on Tuesday.
"We saw strong goods exports this quarter, with prices up sharply for metal ores and minerals and non-monetary gold," ABS chief economist Bruce Hockman said.
"Iron ore is a significant part of the story owing to domestic factors and broader global supply interruptions pushing prices up."
Rising exports and falling imports contributed an estimated 0.2 per cent to GDP growth.
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Sarah Hunter, chief economist for BIS Oxford Economics, said that taken together with business inventory data released on Monday, the data suggests that GDP growth to be released on Wednesday will show it has rebounded to around 0.6 per cent for the quarter.
"But the fundamentals remain challenging both domestically and abroad," Dr Hunter said, pointing to a weak momentum in household spending and a deterioration in conditions globally.
In seasonally adjusted chain volume terms, the balance on goods and services surplus increased $1.07 billion, widening the surplus to $2.6 billion.
