Australia’s goods exports dropped 6.9% month-on-month to a four-month low of AUD 43.61 billion in May, reversing a 7.2% rise in April, primarily weighed down by non-monetary gold and metal ores and minerals.
Non-monetary gold exports continued to decline, plunging 35.0% to AUD 4.52 billion.
Non-rural goods shipments fell 2.9% month-on-month to AUD 32.37 billion, mainly due to lower exports of metal ores and minerals, which declined 9.0%.
The decline was also weighed down by metals (-9.3%) and transport equipment (-5.5%).
By contrast, rural exports rose 2.6% month-on-month to AUD 6.65 billion, supported by increases in meat and meat preparations (5.4%), other rural goods (3.1%), and wool and sheepskins (2.3%), while cereal grains and cereal preparations fell 4.2%.