Australia's goods exports rose sharply in March as the resource-rich country shipped more iron ore to China and more gold to Hong Kong and the UK, preliminary data on Thursday showed.
The Australian Bureau of Statistics said exports of goods jumped 29% in original terms in March to A$36.1 billion ($22.79 billion), following declines in January and February.
Exports of non-rural goods rose A$4.8 billion, or 20%, with a notable increase in iron ore shipments to China, while exports of non-monetary gold climbed by A$2.5 billion, or 225%.
Imports of goods rose by 10% to A$23.8 billion, with capital goods up 18% and intermediate goods rising 6%. Within that, imports of machinery and transport equipment jumped 23%.
($1 = 1.5843 Australian dollars)
(Reporting by Wayne Cole; Editing by Kim Coghill)