The opening of international borders and the return of foreign tourists has helped Australia extend a long run of monthly trade surpluses.
The trade surplus grew to a larger-than-expected $10.5 billion in April from an upwardly revised $9.7 billion in March.
"Australia has clocked up an amazing 52 consecutive monthly trade surpluses and there are no signs of deficits emerging any time soon," Commonwealth Securities chief economist Craig James said.
The Australian Bureau of Statistics said on Thursday exports rose one per cent in April, while imports declined by 0.7 per cent.
There was a 3.3 per cent rise in rural goods exports, driven by an 8.3 per cent increase in cereal shipments, while LNG exports rose five per cent.
Export credits from incoming tourism also jumped by $459 million, while outbound tourism debits rose by $79 million.
"The sharp lift in inbound-tourism credits highlights the value of tourism to the Australian economy," Mr James said.
Among the decline in overall imports in April, incoming shipments of consumption goods fell 1.1 per cent.
In contrast, the national accounts for the March quarter released on Wednesday showed imports grew at the fastest pace since December 2009, resulting in a hefty detraction from the overall economic growth result.
The economy still expanded by 0.8 per cent in the quarter, despite the impact of the spread of the COVID-19 Omicron variant and floods along the east coast of Australia.
However, it was a marked slowdown from the December quarter and saw the annual rate cut to 3.3 per cent, compared with 4.4 per cent previously.
Treasurer Jim Chalmers said while the economy is growing, so are the challenges, including high and rising inflation, interest rate increases and falling real wages.
"Our ability to deal with these challenges is constrained by the fact that we have inherited a trillion dollars in debt," he said on Thursday.
New Liberal leader Peter Dutton told 2GB radio he is "watching with bemusement" how the government is making excuses around the numbers, but Dr Chalmers insisted he is not talking the economy down.
"I'm not going to be the kind of treasurer that says to the Australian people who are falling further and further behind in this cost of living crisis ... that everything is fine in the economy," the Labor treasurer said.
Research conducted for online payment platform QuickFee found eight-in-10 Australian consumers are turning to credit to meet unexpected bills.
The report found half of consumers would use a credit card to pay off a surprise bill, or would look at Buy Now Pay Later schemes.
However, retailers are still expected to receive a lift during mid-year sales.
Research by the Australian Retailers Association, in collaboration with Roy Morgan, predicts $8.8 billion will be spent during the June sales, with more than four-out-of-five consumers spending more or the same as last year.
"We know that many people are more conscious about their household budgets, with the cost of living going up and interest rates on the rise, so this is an ideal time to make any discretionary purchases and pay less," ARA CEO Paul Zahra says.
In an update of its retail trade report for April, the ABS confirmed spending grew by 0.9 per cent to a record $33.9 billion.
However, it also revealed online sales declined by 1.3 per cent to $3.7 billion.
"This is the fourth monthly fall in online sales in the six months since state lockdowns ended in October 2021," the ABS said.
"Online sales whilst down from their peak, remain above the pre-Delta outbreak level."