Australia’s Trade Balance showed a much greater surplus than economists expected, printing at A$2.1 billion in February versus expectations of a A$0.7 billion result, the seventh consecutive month in positive territory. The improvement was driven by a -3.5% drop in imports while exports increased for the first in fourth months, adding 7.7%. The uptick in outbound shipments was driven by a 55% surge in gold, likely driven by demand for store-of-value assets as central banks around the world buy billions in government and private-sector debt with printed money to lower borrowing costs and boost access to lending (a practice called “quantitative easing”). However, it remains to be seen if gold demand has staying power as it becomes clear that rapid inflation is not entirely guaranteed as a consequence of quantitative easing.
