Australia boasts rare trade surplus with US on gold frenzy

Australia has boasted its best three-month run of exports to the United States as President Donald Trump's tariff policies sparked a rush to buy gold, turning a rare U.S. trade surplus into a deficit.

Data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics out on Thursday showed Australian goods exports to the U.S. surged to A$16.7 billion ($10.71 billion) in the three months to March, triple the A$5.2 billion exported in the same period a year earlier.

That saw Australia notch a goods surplus with the U.S. of A$4.1 billion in those three months, swinging from a deficit of A$6.2 billion the year before.

Analysts say much of that reflected a huge jump in gold exports to the U.S. where buyers were stocking up on physical metal in case it too faced tariffs, and to cover positions in futures markets.

Australia is one of the world's largest producers of the precious metal, which is classed as non-monetary gold when shipped as bars.

Australia is also one of the few countries the U.S. normally runs a trade surplus with, a point often made by Australian negotiators arguing against Trump's imposition of 10% tariffs.

The market mayhem caused by tariffs also spurred investor demand for gold as a safe haven, taking it to record highs. In Australian dollar terms, gold prices have climbed 19% so far this year, showering Australian miners with cash.

The jump in gold exports, combined with a recovery in iron ore shipments from bad weather, widened Australia's seasonally adjusted goods surplus to A$6.9 billion in March alone, well above market forecasts of A$3.9 billion.

Exports jumped 7.6% in March from February, thanks to a near 12% rebound in iron ore and a 26% rise in non-monetary gold shipments. Imports fell 2.2%, led mainly by a pullback in capital goods.

($1 = 1.5596 Australian dollars)