SYDNEY: Gold will become Australia’s second most valuable export commodity, overtaking liquefied natural gas (LNG), after the precious metal’s “extraordinary surge” to record prices, the government says.
Revenues from bullion will jump to A$60bil in 2025-26, the 12 month period to next June, up from A$47bil in the prior year, and almost double the total two years ago, the Department of Industry, Science and Resources said in a report.
The surge will partially offset expected revenue declines in other commodities, including iron ore.
Gold has punched to successive highs over the last 12 months, making it one of the top performing commodities, as central banks boost holdings, the Federal Reserve cuts US interest rates, and geopolitical instability lifts demand for havens.
LNG has softened, in part as crude oil has weakened, while metallurgical coal, another major export, has also dropped.
“The main driver of upward revisions to export values in 2025-26 has been the extraordinary surge in US dollar gold prices,” the department said in its quarterly snapshot.
“The renewed strength in gold prices comes as US interest rates cuts occur, which lowers the opportunity cost of holding gold, and worries rise over the US fiscal outlook and the rate of US inflation,” it added
Australia is one of the leading gold producers, with output projected to rise from 340 tonnes in 2025-26, to 369 tonnes in the following period.
Spot bullion hit a record above US$3,976 an ounce on Tuesday, with prices up by more than half this year.
Total resource and energy export earnings, which includes iron ore, oil and gas, as well as metals such as lithium and copper, will total A$369bil over the 12 months through to next June, about 4% lower on-year, it said. — Bloomberg