New Zealand December Trade Deficit NZ$53 Million

(RTTNews) - New Zealand posted a merchandise trade deficit of NZ$53 million in December, Statistics New Zealand said on Thursday - representing 1.2 percent of exports.

That topped forecasts for a shortfall of NZ$131 million following the NZ$779 million deficit in November.

Exports were up 0.6 percent to NZ$4.43 billion - exceeding expectations for NZ$4.38 billion and up from NZ$4.08 billion in the previous month.

The rise was led by logs (up NZ$45 million) and wine (up NZ$32 million). Milk powder, butter, and cheese fell 2.9 percent (NZ$41 million) while the quantity exported rose to a record high of 374,000 tons.

Imports slid an annual 2.6 percent to NZ$4.48 billion - in line with expectations and down from NZ$4.86 billion a month earlier.

For the fourth quarter of 2015, the trade deficit was NZ$1.3 billion, marking 11 percent of exports.

Exports were down 5.9 percent to NZ$12 billion in Q4, while imports slipped 2.8 percent to NZ$13.4 billion.

For all of 2015, the trade deficit was NZ$3.549 billion, or 7.2 percent of exports. That beat expectations for a shortfall of NZ$3.584 billion following the NZ$1.2 billion deficit in 2014.

The value of imported goods was a record NZ$52.5 billion, up NZ$1.3 billion or 2.5 percent on year. The rise occurred despite a fall of NZ$2.5 billion in the total value of petroleum products.

The rise in imports was broad-based and was led by consumption goods (such as clothing, toys, and games), up NZ$1.5 billion (13 percent). Capital goods advanced NZ$526 million, led by machinery and plant (up NZ$452 million).

Intermediate goods fell NZ$862 million (3.9 percent), led by a fall of NZ$1.6 billion (33 percent) in crude oil on the back of lower prices. The average price of crude oil in 2015 was about one-third lower than it was in 2014.

"The depreciating New Zealand dollar has an upward effect on import and export prices," international statistics senior manager Jason Attewell said. "Imports rose NZ$1.3 billion, but exports fell NZ$1.1 billion as the impact of falls in world prices, such as for dairy products, was greater than the upward exchange rate effect."

Annual exports were valued at NZ$49.0 billion, down NZ$1.1 billion or 2.2 percent on year. Milk powder, butter, and cheese fell NZ$3.0 billion to NZ$11.5 billion, with China accounting for two-thirds of the fall.

Despite the fall in the value of dairy exports, the quantity of milk powder, butter, and cheese rose to a new record high of 2.9 million tons (up 2.9 percent from the previous high in 2014). The quantity exported to China was 21 percent of the total in 2015, down from 28 percent in 2014.