Australian trade surplus plunges to seven-year low amid tariff impact, exports tumble 7.8% m/m

[Australian flag, stock market, exchange economy and Trade, oil production, container ship in export and import business and logistics.]
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Australia’s trade surplus collapsed in August 2025, narrowed to AUD 1.83 billion. This figure, which marks the smallest surplus since June 2018, dramatically missed market expectations of AUD 6.2 billion and was down sharply from the revised AUD 6.61 billion reported in July.

The steep decline was driven by exports, which dropped to a three-month low. This weakness was primarily attributed to weaker shipments to the United States, where newly imposed tariffs took effect, and a substantial decline in gold exports.

Australia’s goods exports slumped 7.8% month-on-month to a three-month low of AUD 41.86 billion in August 2025, following a downwardly revised 2.5% increase in July.

Australia’s goods imports surged 3.2% month-on-month to a record AUD 40.03 billion in August 2025, rebounding from a revised 2.4% drop in the previous month.

The S&P/ASX 200 Index [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/AS51#hasComeFromMpArticle=false#source=section%3Amain_content%7Cbutton%3Abody_link%7Cfirst_level_url%3Anews] climbed 0.6% to around 8,900 in Thursday morning trade, reaching its highest level in one month, boosted by gold stocks, miners, and banks. The Australian dollar [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/AUD:USD#hasComeFromMpArticle=false#source=section%3Amain_content%7Cbutton%3Abody_link%7Cfirst_level_url%3Anews] remained steady at around $0.662 on Thursday, holding its recent gains, as investors assessed disappointing trade balance figures.

ETFs: (NYSEARCA:EWA [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/EWA#hasComeFromMpArticle=false#source=section%3Amain_content%7Cbutton%3Abody_link%7Cfirst_level_url%3Anews]), (NYSEARCA:FXA [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/FXA#hasComeFromMpArticle=false#source=section%3Amain_content%7Cbutton%3Abody_link%7Cfirst_level_url%3Anews]), (NYSEARCA:FLAU [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/FLAU#hasComeFromMpArticle=false#source=section%3Amain_content%7Cbutton%3Abody_link%7Cfirst_level_url%3Anews]).

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