Australian trade deficit narrows in December

Australia's trade deficit narrowed to 427 million AU dollars (445.79 million U.S. dollars) in December due to a fall in imports and a rebound in commodity exports, official figures showed on Tuesday. The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) said the balance on goods and services was a deficit of 427 million AU dollars in December 2012, a fall of 2,361million AU dollars on the deficit in November 2012. Exports of goods and services rose 3.0 percent, while imports of goods and services fell 6.0 percent. ANZ Bank head of Australian economics Justin Fabo said the results were better than expected. "Overall, it's a pretty good number, a pretty sharp improvement in the trade balance," he told the Australian Associated Press ( AAP). He said rising prices in commodity helped reduce the trade deficit in the month.