SYDNEY, June 6 (Reuters) - Australia's current account surplus widened in the March quarter, helped by strong resources exports and falling import prices, while net exports proved to be a much smaller drag on growth than first thought.
Data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics on Tuesday showed the current account surplus widened to A$12.3 billion in the first quarter. That was compared to a revised surplus of A$11.7 billion in the fourth quarter and beat forecasts of a A$15 billion surplus.
The ABS said net exports would subtract a small 0.2 percentage points to gross domestic product (GDP) in the first quarter, above forecasts for a 0.6 percentage point drag.
The first-quarter GDP figures are due on Wednesday and were expected to show growth eased to a quarterly gain of 0.3%, from 0.5% previously.
