New Zealand terms of trade hit 17.9% for the year – the largest annual increase since September 1973, Statistics New Zealand announced this morning.The most recent quarter, September, saw an increase of 3%. Export prices as a group remained flat but
New Zealand terms of trade hit 17.9% for the year – the largest annual increase since September 1973, Statistics New Zealand announced this morning.
The most recent quarter, September, saw an increase of 3%. Export prices as a group remained flat but prices of imports fell.
Within the export group, prices paid for dairy goods rose 7.1% but this was offset by falls in returns for fruit, petroleum and forestry products.
For the year, export prices rose 14.2%, following a 21.4% decline the previous year, with China still being the main source of increased demand.
On the import side the falls were in the prices paid for petroleum products, mechanical machinery and food and beverages.
Within the fall in import prices is another good sign for the economy – the shift in capital goods, where investment is crucial for New Zealand’s long-term economic productivity.
Prices paid for capital goods fell 2.2% for the quarter, after recent rises. The annual shift in prices paid for capital goods was a drop of 7.5%.
But the volume of capital goods imported is actually on the rise, which suggests firms are taking advantage of the New Zealand dollar’s high run against the US currency. For the quarter, volumes rose 26% and, importantly, this was spread around a large number of sub-categories.
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