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Dec trade deficit of NZ$347m, but worse because of irregular aircraft sales
January 29th, 2009
New Zealand’s trade deficit in December 2008 was NZ$347 million, or 9% of exports, figures released by Statistics New Zealand (Stats NZ) show. This was compared to a surplus of NZ$39 million in December 2007 and a deficit of NZ$588 million in November 2008.
However, the trade deficit figure was helped by a NZ$148 million rise in the export category ‘aircraft and parts’, up to NZ$156 million. With this taken away, the trade deficit would have been NZ$495 million.
The average figure for the ‘aircraft and parts’ category for the first 11 months of 2008 was NZ$25 million, pushed up by three months between NZ$49 million and NZ$68 million.
Exports in the month of December 2007 rose 4.5% to NZ$3.85 billion from the year before, Stats NZ said. Imports in the month rose by 15.2% to NZ$4.2 billion. The New Zealand dollar fell 27.5%, compared to the US dollar, between December 2007 and December 2008.
Exports would have only risen 0.5% if the sale of large aircraft had not occurred.
The December deficit meant that New Zealand’s trade deficit for the year of 2008 was NZ$5.615 billion, from NZ$5.312 billion in 2007. In the December quarter of 2008, the deficit totaled NZ$1.929 billion, from NZ$1.363 billion in the December quarter of 2007.
Exports of ‘milk powder, butter and cheese’ in the month of December 2008 fell 11.5% to NZ$946 million from a year ago. ‘Meat and edible offal exports rose 27.5% to NZ$520 million and New Zealand’s crude oil exports fell 48.5% to NZ$125 million. Aluminium exports fell 15.2% to NZ$112 million.
Imports of petroleum in December 2008 fell 16.4% to NZ$644 million from December 2007. ‘Mechanical machinery and equipment imports rose 16.4% to NZ$563 million, and ‘electrical machinery and equipment’ imports rose 24.4% to NZ$369 million. The biggest jump in imports was the ’salt, earths, stone, lime and cement’ category, up 466.8% to NZ$83 million in December 2008.
By destination, exports to Australia fell 2.1% to NZ$787 million from December 2007, while exports to America rose 36.2% to NZ$496 million. Exports to Japan rose 15.8% to NZ$293 million, and exports to China rose 64.1% to NZ$314 million. Exports to Indonesia fell 28.5% to NZ$74 million.
Imports from Australia fell 3.2% to NZ$710 million. New Zealand imports from China rose 39.2% to NZ$609 million, and imports from America rose 32.9% to NZ$410 million. Imports from Japan fell 18.9% to NZ$282 million.
Tags: America, Australia, China, crude oil exports, electrical machinery, Exports, Imports, Indonesia, Japan, machinery, Meat exports, new zealand, NZD, Trade Balance, Trade deficit, Wood exports
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January 29th, 2009 at 9:22 pm
Were are all the bleeding blogs on this then? This is way more important than interest rate percentage points or poxy house prices. This is the stuff s+p looks at. Everybody bleats on about growth and production, but what is the point if there is no profitability?
PROFITABILITY is where its at, but nobody is looking at it. Dickheads (just kidding I’m sure your all nice clever people – Yes even you Lara luv)
January 29th, 2009 at 9:53 pm
Agree Steve, but I think the current account deficit is more important – possibly the key measure of our economic being. And THIS suggests THAT is not going to be good (actually it hasn’t been positive since one month in 1973).
January 29th, 2009 at 10:39 pm
Agreed Peter, but I think this is a big, pooy, stinky, finger pointing at a dirty big pile of current account deficit, rather than a “suggestion”. You are so polite!