The stronger-than-expected Australian export figures for May have bolstered confidence in the Australian economy’s ability to withstand the global economic headwinds. Particularly, record Chinese imports raised hopes that the Australian economy could escape unscarred from the current global economic turmoil.

Despite these developments Australian export growth has slowed considerably from its mid-2011 high as we warned last September.  We have recently updated our analysis of Australian export growth prospects to see if they will again weaken.