from the SMH …..

Foreign debt - Australia's black hole

Jacob Saulwick

June 6, 2007

AUSTRALIA'S current account deficit improved slightly in the three months to March following a blowout at the end of last year, but the picture is marred by ballooning foreign debt.

A boost in export volumes fuelled the improvement in the current account deficit, which narrowed $121 million to $15.38 billion after the surprisingly hefty $15.5 billion deficit in the December quarter of last year, Bureau of Statistics figures showed yesterday.

But with the economy supposedly booming on the back of trade to Asia, some economists were not impressed by the nation's inability to narrow the deficit further.

Foreign debt - Australia's Black Hole