Trade statistics
Australia’s trade balance
Australia's trade balance is the difference between what we export and what we import.
It is calculated by subtracting the value of the goods and services Australia buys from overseas from the value of the goods and services we sell to other countries.
As of December 2022, Australia's trade balance was $12,237 million (seasonally adjusted).
Australia's trade balance over time
The graph below shows the variation in Australia's monthly trade balance over the past few years.
We calculate two different values for trade balance:
- seasonally adjusted (sa), which means monthly data is adjusted to account for events such as Christmas, Easter and Chinese New Year.
- trend, which means the data is smoothed to more clearly highlight changes over time.
Please note: the trend series has been suspended by the ABS from March 2019. It will be reinstated when more certainty emerges in the underlying trends in international trade.
The table below shows the value of Australia's trade balance at the start of each month.
| Date | Balance on goods & services (sa) |
Balance on goods & services (trend) |
|---|---|---|
| 1/12/2022 | 12,237 | 0 |
| 1/11/2022 | 13,475 | 0 |
| 1/10/2022 | 12,585 | 0 |
| 1/09/2022 | 12,488 | 0 |
| 1/08/2022 | 8,354 | 0 |
| 1/07/2022 | 8,428 | 0 |
| 1/06/2022 | 16,870 | 0 |
| 1/05/2022 | 13,791 | 0 |
| 1/04/2022 | 12,248 | 0 |
| 1/03/2022 | 9,314 | 0 |
| 1/02/2022 | 7,375 | 0 |
| 1/01/2022 | 12,333 | 0 |
| 1/12/2021 | 7,673 | 0 |
| 1/11/2021 | 9,069 | 0 |
| 1/10/2021 | 9,955 | 0 |
| 1/09/2021 | 10,224 | 0 |
| 1/08/2021 | 12,677 | 0 |
| 1/07/2021 | 14,023 | 0 |
| 1/06/2021 | 10,718 | 0 |
| 1/05/2021 | 10,017 | 0 |
| 1/04/2021 | 8,999 | 0 |
| 1/03/2021 | 7,278 | 0 |
| 1/02/2021 | 8,637 | 0 |
| 1/01/2021 | 9,447 | 0 |
| 1/12/2020 | 8,158 | 0 |
| 1/11/2020 | 4,728 | 0 |
| 1/10/2020 | 6,559 | 0 |
| 1/09/2020 | 5,667 | 0 |
| 1/08/2020 | 2,919 | 0 |
| 1/07/2020 | 4,915 | 0 |
| 1/06/2020 | 6,823 | 0 |
| 1/05/2020 | 6,901 | 0 |
| 1/04/2020 | 8,253 | 0 |
| 1/03/2020 | 9,942 | 0 |
| 1/02/2020 | 2,679 | 0 |
| 1/01/2020 | 4,246 | 0 |
| 1/12/2019 | 5,083 | 0 |
| 1/11/2019 | 5,577 | 0 |
| 1/10/2019 | 3,930 | 0 |
| 1/09/2019 | 5,941 | 0 |
| 1/08/2019 | 6,303 | 0 |
| 1/07/2019 | 8,974 | 0 |
| 1/06/2019 | 7,025 | 0 |
| 1/05/2019 | 6,538 | 0 |
| 1/04/2019 | 4,646 | 0 |
| 1/03/2019 | 3,801 | 0 |
| 1/02/2019 | 4,662 | 4,585 |
| 1/01/2019 | 4,131 | 4,069 |
| 1/12/2018 | 4,638 | 3,634 |