Steady Growth in Imports

Overseas Merchandise Trade (Imports): October 2000

Steady Growth in Imports

The provisional value of merchandise imports for October 2000 was $2,945 million, according to latest figures released by Statistics New Zealand. The monthly imports trend continued to grow at a steady rate during 2000.

The value of imports for the year ended October 2000 was $30,840 million, up 21.2 per cent from the previous October year. Intermediate goods (which include crude oil) rose 24.1 per cent while capital goods rose 17.5 per cent and consumption goods rose 13.4 per cent.

The commodity with the largest increase for the year ended October 2000 was mineral fuels, mostly caused by a doubling of crude oil prices. The quantity of crude oil imported fell 2.0 per cent from the previous October year, while the value rose 95.5 per cent ($936 million).

The preliminary estimate for October 2000 merchandise exports is $2,720 million, which would give a merchandise trade deficit of $225 million for the month, compared with a deficit of $430 million for October 1999. The average trade balance for the 10 previous October months was a deficit of $228 million. Detailed statistics for October 2000 exports will be released on 11 December 2000.

Ian Ewing DEPUTY GOVERNMENT STATISTICIAN

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