Australia’s balance sheet has received a boost from a solid rise in exports during the first three months of 2013.

Figures released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics show the current account deficit narrowed to $8.051 billion in the quarter, down from $14.759 billion in the December quarter.

The main driver was a 1.1 per cent rise in exports, particularly commodities like iron ore and coal.

CMC Markets chief market strategist Michael McCarthy said a rise in commodity prices in the quarter may have contributed to the exports figures.

But, he said, the size of the rise in exports was a larger than had been expected, given the high value of the Australian dollar during the period and softer conditions in the domestic economy.

“That’s a bit of a surprise given the other weak economic data we saw in the quarter,” he said.

The ABS said the improvement in the trade balance would add one percentage point to gross domestic product (GDP) for the quarter.

The ABS will release official GDP figures for the quarter on Wednesday.

RBC senior economist Su-Lin Ong said she was not surprised by the figures.

“We know from the monthly trade data a pretty reasonable current account improvement in the first quarter was always on the cards,” she said.

“It’s consistent with a potential peak in investment and capital goods imports and imports in the quarter.”