© Reuters. A forklift unloads shipping containers from a truck at a storage facility located near Sydney Airport in Australia, November 30, 2017. Photo taken November 30, 2017. REUTERS / David Gray
SYDNEY (Reuters) – Australia’s current account surplus fell unexpectedly in the first quarter as companies paid fatter dividends to foreign investors, while import volumes outstripped exports on growth spurts. economic decline.
Data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics on Tuesday showed the current account surplus narrowing to A$7.5 billion ($5.38 billion), far below forecasts of $13.4 billion. la Australia.
Net exports would subtract 1.7 percentage points from gross domestic product (GDP) in the first quarter, above forecasts of a drag of 1.4 percentage points. GDP figures will be released on Wednesday and are expected to show growth of 0.7% for the quarter and 3.0% for the year.
($1 = AU$1.3939)
