Lowest October trade deficit since the mid-1990s

Lowest October trade deficit since the mid-1990s – Media release

27 November 2013

The trade balance for October 2013 was a deficit of $168 million, Statistics New Zealand said today. This is the lowest deficit for an October month since the mid-1990s. October months historically have trade deficits.

"The low trade deficit was due to exported goods recording the highest value for an October month," industry and labour statistics manager Louise Holmes-Oliver said. "It was the highest value for exported goods for any month since March 2013."

The value of exported goods rose $783 million (23 percent) to $4.2 billion. This rise was due to milk powder, butter, and cheese, up $690 million, while quantities increased 22 percent in October 2013.

The value of imported goods rose $237 million (5.7 percent) to $4.4 billion. All three broad economic categories rose, with intermediate goods showing the largest increase, up $93 million.

After removing seasonal effects, the value of exported goods in October 2013 fell 8.2 percent compared with September 2013. A fall in crude oil export quantities from September 2013, which were at their highest level since July 2012, had a large effect on seasonally adjusted exports.

Seasonally adjusted imports for October 2013 rose 0.1 percent compared with September 2013.

Overseas merchandise trade statistics remain provisional for the first three months after data is first released. For more information, see Why overseas merchandise trade data can change on the Statistics NZ website.

Overseas Merchandise Trade: October 2013

OverseasMerchandiseTradeOct13.pdf

omtoct13tables.xls

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