January trade deficit revised down slightly

By NZPA

Tuesday 11th March 2003

New Zealand's January trade deficit was revised to $397 million from the preliminary figure of $399 million, Statistics New Zealand said today.

The preliminary data released last month was based mainly on import figures.

The deficit compares with a $281 million deficit in December.

The deficit in January 2002 was $267 million.

The deficit in the January year ballooned to $1.45 billion from $1.31 billion in the December 2002 year and from a surplus of $610 million in the January 2002 year.

Exports in January were $2.04 billion, against imports of $2.44 billion. A year earlier, exports were up at $2.26 billion while imports were at $2.52 billion.

Exports in the January year were down to $30.81 billion from $32.6 billion in the January 2002 year.

The New Zealand dollar rose against all major trading partners' currencies for five consecutive months, exerting a downward influence on export prices, Statistics New Zealand said.

Meat and dairy products were the main contributors to the lower export value in January 2003, when compared with January 2002.

Exports to Australia were down $71 million (15.6 percent), as the January 2002 figures included irregular, high-value re-exports of aircraft and exports of ship parts.

Exports to Britain and the United States were also lower but were partly offset by higher exports to China.

In Auckland, retail sales increased 0.9 percent, the same as in December, while Wellington's sales jumped 2 percent (-0.2 percent).

Sales were noticeably improved in the South Island, with Canterbury's up 1.7 percent (0.5 percent) and the rest of the South Island up 2 percent (0.5 percent).

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