Australia’s trade surplus widened in August, the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) said.

The balance on goods and services was a surplus of $3.100 billion in August, seasonally adjusted, compared with a downwardly revised surplus of $1.817 billion in July.

Economists’ forecasts had centred on a surplus of $1.95 billion in the month.

During August, exports were up 8.0 per cent in adjusted terms, while imports were up 3.0 per cent, the ABS said on Tuesday.