Exports bounced back in July, providing an early signal Australia's 25 years of economic expansion will extend into another quarter at the very least.
New figures show exports jumped three per cent in July, helping the monthly trade deficit to narrow to $2.41 billion from $3.25 billion the previous month.
Looking ahead, Commonwealth Bank economist Kristina Clifton expects the sharp run up in coking coal prices since mid-August should result in a lift in the value of exports in coming months.
Thursday's data comes a day after the national accounts showed Australia scored a quarter of a century of uninterrupted growth after expanding at an annual rate of 3.3 per cent in the 2015/16 financial year, a four-year high.
It came despite exports subtracting 0.2 percentage points in the June quarter, albeit coming off a strong 1.1 per cent growth in the previous three months.
Speaking before the release of Thursday's figures, Treasurer Scott Morrison said the national accounts showed exports grew 9.6 per cent in the past year.
It was the strongest rate of export growth since the 2000 Sydney Olympics.
"So, that is the real hero of those figures over the last 12 months," Mr Morrison told reporters outside the Reserve Bank's headquarters in Sydney.
There was also a welcome increase in the terms of trade - the first in over two years - but "one swallow doesn't make a summer", he said.
Although optimistic about Australia's economic future, he has not become complacent after 25 years of growth.
"We can't assume that will continue without continuing to do the things that are needed to drive that growth into the future," he said.
Critical to building economic resilience, strengthening the budget and arresting government debt will be the need for the parliament to back the government's savings measures when it sits next week, he said.
Mr Morrison was about to meet governor Glenn Stevens for the final time before he retires from the central bank after 10 years in the top role.
However, the treasurer expects to still catch up with from time-to-time because Mr Stevens is a constituent of his in the Southern Sydney seat of Cook.
Mr Stevens will become a Companion of the Order of Australia from Governor-General Sir Peter Cosgrove when a Queen's Birthday honours ceremony is held in Government House on Friday.
