03.12.201903:27:00UTC+00Australia Logs Current Account Surplus In Q3

Australia logged current account surplus for the second consecutive quarter in the three months to September, data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics showed Tuesday.

The current account surplus rose A$3.18 billion to A$7.85 billion in the September quarter.

"For the first time in 46 years, we have had two consecutive current account surpluses," ABS Chief Economist Bruce Hockman said.

The balance on goods and services surplus climbed A$1.79 billion to A$21.06 billion. At the same time, the primary income deficit fell A$1.59 billion to A$13.03 billion.

In seasonally adjusted chain volume terms, the surplus on goods and services trade increased A$1.0 billion to A$9.3 billion, with an expected contribution of 0.2 percentage points to growth in the September quarter of Gross Domestic Product, the statistical office said.

Australia's net international investment position was a liability of A$976.0 billion at the end of September, a decrease of A$22.0 billion from the end of June.