SA bucks building trend while trade slows

Submitted 10/03/2009

Migration for Business Growth

 

Figures released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics indicate South Australia bucked the trend for total building approvals which nationla figures showed a decline in January.

Total building approval figures for South Australia have increased by a seasonally adjusted 6.1 per cent in January, in  contrast to the national decrease of 3.7 per cent from the previous month.

Approvals for private housing in South Australia increased 14.5 per cent, whilst national figures increased 1.1 per cent.

Intrernational trade figures released indicated a decrease in exports and imports for South Australia in Januray.

South Australian imports decreased 12 per cent in January, whilst exports also decreased by 34 per cent, both in lin with the national trend.

The national surplus on goods and services for January was $970 million (seasonally adjusted), from a revised $417 million surplus in December.

Business SA Chief Executive Officer, Peter Vaughan, said the figures indicate that trade is decreasing as the global economy feels the pressure of the financial crisis.

"The weakening Australian dollar contributed to an increase in the trade surplus."

"South Australian exports to the US, a key export partner, dropped significantly in January, while an increase in demand saw a rise in export activity to China."

More than 60 per cent of participants in the Commonwealth Bank Business SA Survey of Business Expectations for the December quarter expected export sales to be stagnant in the March quarter.