CANBERRA (Scrap Register): Australia's trade surplus has increased to a record 5.4 billion U.S. dollars (A$8 billion) in June from an upwardly revised 4.1 billion U.S. dollars (A$6.2 billion) in May, the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) said.
The price of iron ore -- which is at a five-year high -- along with solid demand from China for mining commodities, has helped to boost Australia's export figures by 1.4%, while import figures were down 3.6%.
Prices for iron ore have surged this year as supply disruptions hit shipments from Brazil and policy stimulus by Beijing supported demand for steel.
Australia's metal ore exports hit a record A$11.8 billion for the month of June, as compared to A$8.04 billion in June last year, ABS data showed.
