Australia's trade balance has recorded its third consecutive monthly surplus, despite a fall in exports during April.
Australia recorded a trade surplus of $28 million in April, according to figures released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics.
That followed a surplus of $555 million in March, and a surplus of $203 million in February.
ANZ head of Australian economics Justin Fabo said the figures were weaker than expected, with exports down one per cent in the month.
But he said the exports were generally on the rise due to new mines coming on line.
"The underlying story is that exports have improved recently, it wasn't that long ago we were seeing quite large deficits."
RBC Capital Markets fixed interest rate strategist Michael Turner said it looked like there was a still a considerable amount of investment in the mining and resources sector.
"On the imports side, it looks like the capital expenditure story hasn't completely fallen off a cliff," he said.
"Capital goods imports were up to start the quarter, which bodes okay for the outlook.
"Consumption goods were pretty soft, which really suggests that household spending is a little soggy at the moment."
Mr Turner said he expected surpluses to get stronger as the mining investment booms started to peak and there were fewer imports of capital goods.
