Does not matter if A$ strengthens 30% as long as commodities are up 100%. Aust is not a big exporter of mfg goods. The way I see it the future very very bright for Australia. A$ probably reflects this $ coming from commodity exports Read here: y RAY BRINDAL CANBERRA—Australia's resources boom has resumed, the government's chief commodities forecaster said, driven by surging iron ore and coal exports to booming Asian markets. Exports have now more than recovered from last year's downturn amid the global financial crisis, the Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics said in its latest report. Australia is a major global supplier of minerals, energy and farm commodities, the production and export of which form an important part of the domestic economy. Exports of minerals and energy products represented 68% of total merchandise exports last fiscal year and 54% of Australia's total exports of goods and services Australia's commodity exports are set to surge 26% year-to-year to a record 214.93 billion Australian dollars (US$203.45 billion) in the fiscal year started July 1, Abare said Tuesday. That is a 6.1% rise from an earlier forecast made in June. The agency also revised up its estimate of exports last fiscal year to A$170.57 billion, up 4.0% from the June estimate. Exports totaled A$197.68 billion in 2008-09. In a quarterly commodity outlook, Abare said exports of mineral resources, which include energy, metals and other mineral products, could top A$179.86 billion in 2010-11, a gain of 30% on year and up 5.9% from the June estimate. Exports of commodities such as gold, alumina and nickel could also rise substantially, it said. In framing its forecasts, Abare said it has assumed the Australian dollar exchange rate to average US$0.90 in 2010-11, up from an estimated US$0.87 in June and up from an actual US$0.88 last fiscal year. World economic growth is assumed at 4.3% in 2010 and 3.7% in 2011, compared with a June estimate of 3.9% for both years. Emerging economies, particularly China and India, remain the key drivers of global economic activity, providing support for economic recovery in developing Asia, according to the report. Abare said it expects Chinese economic growth to remain strong. While tightening measures implemented by the Chinese government pose a downside risk to the outlook, the probability of a significant slowdown in domestic demand remains low at this stage, it said. By contrast, economic growth among developed nations has been modest. While the threat of a sovereign debt crisis in Europe appears to have eased, renewed concerns have emerged about the sustainability of the economic recovery in the U.S. and Japan, it said.