Terms of Trade fall hides pick-up in investment
Imports hit record levels, with prices down 1.5%.
Hot Topic
Long reads
The country's terms of trade fell 2.3% in March as prices paid for exports were hit by the high New Zealand dollar.
Export prices received fell 3.8%, with a 11% dip in returns for butter being the largest drop.
Prices for imports fell 1.5%, a drop which is helping fuel something of an import boom. Total imports are at their highest level ever, says Statistics New Zealand.
Imports by volume rose 5.4% in the March quarter, and the rise is not in just in consumption goods but in intermediate goods, as well as plant and machinery.
The volume of intermediate goods rose 12% in the March quarter, and the volume of such goods - stocks for businesses, plus fuel - is at the highest level since June 1990.
Capital goods fell overall, but these are always volatile due to "lumpy" one-off items which can dramatically affect the figure (for example, if Air New Zealand buys an aircraft or as, more recently, the navy buys a couple of boats).
If transport items are excluded, the rise was 2.2%.
Prices of imported mechanical machinery fell 1.8% during the quarter and 8.4% over the year - again because of the high New Zealand dollar.
Rob Hosking
Fri, 01 Jun 2012
Fri, 01 Jun 2012
© All content copyright NBR. Do not reproduce in any form without permission, even if you have a paid subscription.
Terms of Trade fall hides pick-up in investment
21155