Australian Exports to Rise; Stocks Decline 1%

Mayank Mehta, Chandrasekhar Atreya and Sanjay Barot
22 Jun, 2010
New York City

According to the revised estimates, exports are likely to increase 23% to A$202.5 billion in the 12-month period ending June 2011, according to the Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics today.

[R]6:00 PM Sydney, Australia – Australia revises it 2011 exports target by 8.3% on higher iron ore and coking coal prices. East Timor is planning a new oil and gas hub on its southern coast. SABMiller commissions new beer plant in Warnervale. Chief executive of Sundance Resources is killed in an air crash.[/R]

ASX 200 index in Australia decreased or 54.30 or 1.18% to 4,558.30.

Australia revised and raised its forecast for its 2011 exports by 8.3% after contract prices were hiked for supply of iron ore and coking coal.

According to the revised estimates, exports are likely to increase 23% to A$202.5 billion in the 12-month period ending June 2011, according to the Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics today.

East Timor has said it is planning a $3.8 billion oil and gas hub on its southern coast as a counter to the proposed floating plant project of Woodside Petroleum Ltd, named Sunrise. The East Timor had rejected the Sunrise project because it did not include any facility on its soil.

Negotiations with Australia are continuing over proposed ventures in the East Timor Sea, government spokesman Agio Pereira said in a statement today. He said his government will provide detailed plan of its proposal later this year.

SABMiller Plc has commissioned its joint venture beer brewing unit, Pacific Beverages at its new Bluetongue brewery in Warnervale, about 100 kilometers north of Sydney. The venture with Coca-Cola Amatil has a capacity of 500,000 hectoliters and will incorporate two brew houses in one brewery.

The brewery has taken a year and a half to construct and will be one of the most environmentally sustainable breweries in the world. The unit will have lower water and energy consumption, waste generation and atmospheric emissions, because of its cutting edge technology.

ASX Movers

Rio Tinto Limited led gainers in the S&P ASX 200 index with a rise of 0.3% followed by Woodside Petroleum Ltd 0.7%, BHP Billiton plc 0.6% and Commonwealth Bank of Australia 1.3%.

News Corporation led decliners in the S&P ASX 200 index with a loss of 1.5% followed by ResMed Inc 0.4%, Orica Limited of 1.2%, Downer EDI Limited 4.4% and Woolworths Limited 0.2%.

Other Movers

BHP Billiton plc, the mining company, fell 0.5% to A$39.71 and Gindalbie Metals Ltd dropped 3.9% to A$1.21.

Macarthur Coal Limited, the producer of pulverized coal used in steelmaking, fell 3.3% to A$12.32.

Qantas Airways Limited dropped 1.2% to A$2.42.

Rio Tinto Limited, the mining company, fell 0.1% to A$72.21 and Sundance Resources Limited closed unchanged at A$0.13 after the company said its chairman and chief executive died in plane crash.